The Avengers: A New Age
by Radioactive88
Summary: The Avengers are parents! Watch their kids, whose childhoods couldn't be anymore different, make friendships with each other that will last a lifetime. See them grow into themselves and their powers, and adjust to the world around them while they realize they are expected to be the next Avengers. Oh, and there will be a few obstacles along the way. . . .
1. The Avengers: A New Age

**A/N: Whazzup? This helps explain our Avengers AU story, so please read up! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Anything in the Marvel Universe= not ours.**

Okay, so here are a couple things you should know about our story. POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT FOR AVENGERS AND AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON.

1\. Hawkeye and Black Widow are together. Yes, we know a certain Avengers' sequel may or may not have altered this, but we decided to ignore this for our alternate universe. Hawkeye does not have another family. In our minds, Hawkeye and Black Widow are perfect for each other.

2\. This story is placed a couple months after the first Avengers movie, so Iron Man 3 didn't happen but Iron Man 2 did.

3\. All of the Avengers have children. Even Captain America: in this alternate universe, he's been unfrozen for about thirteen years and has a family. He'd make such a good father :).

4\. Black Widow can have children. It hurt our hearts when we saw that part in Avengers: Age of Ultron, so again, we're ignoring this fact.

5\. Jane Foster is very OOC in the story but it's needed for the plot.

6\. Jane has known Thor from before the movie Thor, and has been living in Asgard for quite a while now because they have a daughter.

We will update this section when we think of more. Even though we're ignoring a lot of things from Avengers: Age of Ultron, that movie was EPIC and we highly recommend it. Thanks for taking the time to read this part, and the prologue is next! :)


	2. Prologue

**A/N: S'up everybody! We just posted this story, like, a minute ago and we wanted to include the prologue as soon as possible. So, here it is! Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Disclaimer: We own nothing of the Marvel universe and I'm (Goldie) sad about that because Tony Stark is the bomb!**

 **Prologue**

The dark-haired man was splayed across the linen sheets, drool leaking from his mouth and pooling over the silky pillows.

The tall, lean woman observed him with a smirk residing on her exquisite features. He had drunk a few too many glasses of expensive champagne, in fact, too many for her to count.

And that was exactly what she had wanted. She wanted to get him in bed with her. So she had planned the night carefully and efficiently, even getting a bit tipsy herself. The night had been rather enjoyable, actually.

And it had been very, very easy. Almost too easy.

But then again, had she really expected seducing Tony Stark to be difficult in any way? After all, he had quite a reputation. It was said that any attractive woman that caught his eye would end up in his bed later that night. But then he'd drop them, and move onto his next conquest.

That was perfectly okay with Claire Worth. She didn't ever need to ever see his face again, nor want to. Claire only wanted him for one thing and one thing only.

She wanted to have his child.

Claire wasn't any ordinary woman: far from it. She was cunning, manipulative, and was even thought of as diabolical. But she was also a quite beautiful woman, with the way her dress blended with her curves and how her white-blond hair shimmered down her back and the way her gray eyes gleamed with power and ambition. Tony Stark had very much appreciated her beauty that night.

Claire Worth always got what she wanted and she wanted to have Tony Stark's child. So, she was going to have Tony Stark's child.

She was perfectly sane. It was all part of her plan.

But she wasn't so cruel to merely have his child without his knowledge of its existence. Well, she was that cruel and she was not going to tell him but she had been thoughtful enough to indirectly ask his opinion on a few things . . . the child's name, for example.

 _Claire had purposely bumped into him in a fancy restaurant and it was clear that he was having a bad night, but he seemed to perk up when he had the opportunity to sit across from the attractive woman._

 _"So," she drawled, taking another sip out of the crystal glass. "Do you have any family?"_

 _He glanced over at her, and she was already beginning to see the haze of drunkenness swirling in his deep brown eyes. "No."_

 _"That's too bad."_

 _He stayed silent, keeping his gaze on the glass before him as he swished the glass of alcohol around._

 _"I don't have a family either, well, at least not much of one. I didn't have such a great childhood. When I have children, I would like to make up for that," she said, watching his reaction. It wasn't all a lie. She didn't have a great childhood, but she she was utterly uninterested in making up for it with children of her own; the child she already had didn't make up for it. That's not_ _why she wanted Tony Stark's child._

 _He gave a sympathetic, though somewhat half-hearted, "I'm sorry" before taking another gulp of his drink._

 _"What about you? Do you want to have children?"_

 _"Well aren't you forward." The corners of his mouth lifted and he winked at her._

 _A slight bubble of panic rose up her throat. Was he on to her? She had to lure him off that track. "You know full well what I mean."_

 _To her relief, he let out a hearty chuckle. "Yeah, yeah I do get what you mean. And no, I really can't picture myself being a dad."_

 _"Not at all?"_

 _"Well . . ." He trailed off and looked a little embarrassed. By then, she could tell he was becoming very drunk and probably spilling secrets he never would have dreamed of sharing if he was sober._

 _"Well?"_

 _"I mean, I kinda miss having a family. Maybe having a little mini me having running around wouldn't be the worst thing in the universe."_

 _She smiled at him in a way she hoped appeared warm. "So I assume you would name the child after yourself?"_

 _"Well, if it was a boy, then yes," he said, too proudly for her liking. "But a girl . . . well, let me tell you about that. I was having a very, very bad day and I was drinking very expensive tequila. . . ."_

 _"Where is this going?"_

 _"It's kind of funny, actually. I was wasted out of my mind, and just plain mad at society. To cheer myself up, I started reading my favorite children's book, Charlotte's Web, and—"_

 _"To cheer yourself up? With that ending?" she asked, amused._

 _"More like to inspire me. I always thought Charlotte was some spider. At the time, I was angry and rapidly losing my faith in humanity. Charlotte always stuck with me. I loved her as a child; she truly did inspire me. And that day, it occurred to me that if a spider could be so brave and kind, why not human beings? It gave me hope. So, I decided that if I were to have a daughter then I would name her Charlotte."_

 _"After a spider?" she said dryly._

 _"Charlotte was one hell of a spider, so yeah. But I'm not going to have a kid because I'm not meant to be a dad. There are some things I don't know about this world, albeit few, but I just know I'm not meant to be a dad."_

 _"I don't think I'm meant to be a mom either."_

She didn't know how passionately her future daughter would agree to the sentiment of how she wasn't meant to be a mom.

She was almost out the door when she placed a hand on her stomach. No, Claire didn't want a child for the sake of being a mother. It was far more complicated than that.

She was already the mother of a four-year-old son. He had the makings of a powerful warrior who was the son of a powerful man who didn't know he had a child, just as Claire had planned.

Being a mother, though, just didn't suit Claire.

Claire was banking on the dear hopes that a child of Tony Stark's would be extremely intelligent. Because, as said before, Claire was no ordinary woman. She held rather extraordinary powers that most humans could only dream of having. Supernatural powers.

If that child, the offspring of both Claire Worth and Tony Stark, could inherit the best of both sides, then that child would be simply unstoppable.

And Charlotte Claire Worth lived up to those expectations.


	3. Chapter 1: Charlotte

**Disclaimer: Again, we do not own any characters of this story or anything of the Marvel universe but our OCs.**

 **A/N: This is set about thirteen years after the prologue, in the perspective of our diabolical OC Claire Worth's daughter. Please read, enjoy, and review! Thanks! :)**

 **Chapter 1: Charlotte**

"Keep your guard up!" _Thwack_ , the flat of the sword slapped against my ribs. I sucked in a breath and adjusted myself accordingly, before sending a volley of quick slashes right back at him.

"Don't grip the sword too tight!" The butt of his sword crashed against my knuckles, and though I did not hear a crack, I knew they were going to be heavily bruised later. My fingers loosened around the hilt as I sliced downward toward the burly man. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet, my blade would have lodged clean into his skull.

"Be aware of everything, girl!" The third man attempted a blow to my shins, but my reflexes took over and I rolled to the side. The streak of steel made a _whooshing_ noise where my legs would have been.

Okay, now I was really starting to get annoyed.

The three armor-clad men surrounding me, my instructors for the time being, were becoming ragged and out of breath. We had been at this for hours. Unlike me, they hadn't grown up on extensive physical training and fitness. I hardly broke a sweat but they looked about ready to collapse.

This session was meant purely for learning. I was clearly holding back. If I had been allowed to actually _fight_ , I would have easily defeated all three of them within the first five minutes. But no, I was supposed to dutifully listen to their petty criticism because they were considered more experienced than I. But they were most certainly not more experienced.

I might have been considered a child by some, as I was recently turned twelve, but I was considered by most already an expert in the art of swordsmanship. Except my mother. But she was simply impossible to please, so I wasn't really expecting anything else.

Anyway, by this time, I was purposely making careless mistakes just to give them something to "teach" and to amuse myself as they so eagerly leaped to correct me.

But I was getting rather bored of that, and they were swaying with exhaustion, so I decided to put them out of their misery.

It was time to show them who really had the upper hand here.

My sword was a blur now. Their hasty blocks and parries did little to lessen the wrath of my gleaming blade. I easily took down the tallest one by sweeping out his legs, then jabbed at the second one's weak points to make him drop his guard. As soon as his arms were substantially out of position enough to try to block my unrelenting attacks, I swooped in and slammed him in the gut with the butt of my sword and he collapsed like a ton of bricks.

The third man assumed a "dear-in-the-headlights" expression as I directed my full attention on him. I grinned at him, but showed no mercy. It was drilled into the other children and I that mercy was never an option.

With a few graceful flicks of my blade, I knocked his sword off to the side and immediately positioned the deadly sharp point of mine into his throat. "You might want to surrender now," I said dryly, as if I didn't care one way or another.

He shot his hands high into the air and dropped to his knees. He was submitting.

I nodded with satisfaction and lowered my sword, but still I wasn't completely done. I couldn't just let him stay upright while his buddies weren't, could I? That wouldn't be fair.

To prove my point, I sent a flying side-kick straight into his chest and he toppled to the ground along with his comrades. "Well, this has been nice and all but I really have better things to do at the moment."

With a final smirk thrown over my shoulder, I took my leave from the stuffy room and left them groaning on the floor.

Unlike them, I hadn't been wearing any armor because I felt it weighed me down more than anything, so I had no need to stop and dawdle on my way to a different training session. It was a shame, really, that I had no excuse to stall. I suspected that my mother would be teaching the next session, and that was not a good thing by any means. Since I couldn't avoid it, though, I tried to just brush it off so I wouldn't be nervous on the way.

I wiped the residue sweat from my hands onto my military-like cargo pants and carefully stuck my sword into the holster in my special weapons' belt. Most of the other kids didn't care about their weapons like I did mine. But I truly loved and adored my sword like it was my baby, along with my favorite gun and knives that I also kept in my belt. It was a really great belt.

Also, as I could never have too many weapons, I had my bow and quiver full of arrows stowed away in my quarters. By quarters, it was basically a hollow metal cube that I slept in.

My steps were quick and hasty, but I didn't really know why. I wasn't late for a training session because I should have been still training with those wannabe masters. The real reason trouble was foreseeable in my future was because I ditched them—and embarrassed them. It was funny though, well, at least I thought it was and that's what counts.

My footsteps echoed through the halls. This claustrophobic prison was my home. This was the only place I had ever lived in my entire life, the only place I had ever seen. I had never seen the outside world, felt the sunlight on my skin . . . my deathly pale complexion reflected this, of course. We were given Vitamin D supplements, though, to stay healthy and strong as they needed us to be.

It was a rather lonely existence, honestly. My days consisted of being awoken with a needle full of drugs, which wasn't really a pleasant way to be awoken. The reason I was drugged every single morning of my life is because I had powers. And I didn't even know what my powers were, because there had never been a time where I _hadn't_ been drugged.

My entire life, I was forced through rigorous training and discipline. Despite that, education was also part of my life, because my mother wanted to "foster my intelligence" or however she put it. We even had a variety of dance training for as long as I could remember to cultivate agility, balance, and strength that we often incorporated in our fighting. Capoeira is a prime example of this, the acrobatic and deceptive aspects of it influenced my fighting technique quite a bit, and it worked rather effectively for me. All of this I learned to an extreme extent.

But my powers had never been developed because they were afraid of them. I was considered a loose cannon, and if I had the extra edge, then they would have no control over me. My powers wouldn't be awoken until they were absolutely sure that I had submitted to their authority. That meant no powers for me, then.

Anyway, I was a pretty messed up kid, especially after what happened a few years before. But I didn't like to think about that.

I followed the distinct sound of clanging metal and my hand instinctively inched toward the hilt of my sword, ready to fight.

Finally reaching a pair of double doors, I quietly slipped through them and observed the scene occurring within. Twenty-five out of the approximate hundred children in the institution were sword-fighting with one another. Sure enough, my mother was overseeing it all, along with another man that I wasn't fond of and had never bothered to learn the name of.

Hearing my footsteps, my mother spun around her on her heel and glared at me. "What are _you_ doing here?"

She was a beautiful woman, I couldn't deny that. Her white-blond hair was currently down and framed her undeniably attractive features well. But her pretty exterior was a poor example of the person she was beneath.

"I missed your sunny demeanor and irresistible charisma," I deadpanned, strolling over to stand next to her and watch the other children spar with each other. Unsurprisingly, the sharp sting of the back of my mother's hand spread like wildfire across the side of my face, but as taught repeatedly, I showed no reaction to the pain and just stood there, emotionless.

"Why aren't you training?" she spat at me, not even giving me the decency of eye contact.

"I was training. For hours. It became rather unhelpful so I thought it would be beneficial for all parties involved to end it while we were figuratively ahead." _We were never ahead_ , I thought secretly, but decided to keep that bit to myself.

Finally she gave me her full, furious attention but I calmly stood my ground, unimpressed. "Unhelpful? They were extremely qualified!"

I let loose a hearty snort. "On what _grounds_? Because if they were considered qualified then I must comment that the bar has been significantly lowered."

In the same spot as before, she lashed out and struck me once again but I didn't even flinch. If I showed any reaction to the pain then it would only make it worse.

"Curb your tongue, insolent child," she hissed, her icy blue eyes colder than ever. "Now, as you have probably already ruined your chance of training under them, I must go and simmer down the situation that you have brought upon us. Take over my place of overseeing the others and I don't want to hear another word out of you."

With that, she stormed off and I wisely decided to keep my mouth shut. Only now, away from my mother's scrutinizing gaze, did I allow myself to softly stroke my burning cheek. Still, I only gave myself a few seconds of comfort before taking over my mother's task of carefully watching the other children.

Actually, though I called them children, most were older than me. I was certainly not a child, but for some reason I viewed them as children. Most of them weren't born into this place like I was, instead captured into it, so they had at least some concept of the outside world while I had absolutely none at all.

Anyway, I was strolling through the aisles between my dueling comrades and casually correcting them when I heard it.

The man who was also overlooking the training was red-faced and shouting at a boy only a few years older than I. Eyes narrowing, I hurried over to see what the problem was. "This is the third time you have messed up in this session! What's wrong with you, boy?"

The boy, who I now recognized as Jack, my only real friend here, cowered under his gaze and mumbled a response.

"What's going on?" I asked coolly of the instructor, sympathizing for Jack.

"He dropped his sword," the trainer growled. "He has screwed up too many damn times today."

"His hands are probably sweaty," I remarked evenly. "No harm, no foul."

The instructor snapped his head around to give me full power of his glare and I arched an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, sir? You look bothered."

"Stop trying to undermine my authority!" he shouted, taking a threatening step forward.

I refused to back down and took a step forward of my own. "Then leave him alone. This is ridiculous. You are _wasting_ valuable training time by overreacting."

"How _dare_ you—"

"Calm the hell down!" I snapped, letting a bit of the anger that always boiled inside of me loose onto him. "The clock is ticking and my mother won't be happy to hear that you're wasting time in such a fashion."

"Like your mother will listen to _you_ ," he sneered. I had a reputation for a very hot temper, an extremely accurate reputation, and he was trying to provoke me. But since I was letting my anger take over my rationality, I took the bait.

" _Look_ , you smarmy jackass—"

"Hey, hey," Jack spoke up, standing between us. "Thanks, Double-edge, but I made the mistakes here. You don't need to defend me."

My nickname was "Double-edge" for as long as I could remember because of the ferocity I always displayed when fighting, and my equally fiery mouth. I had two sharp sides, or edges, so that was how my nickname was created.

"I know I don't have to," I retorted. "But I still will."

Jack gave me a small, grateful smile and shrugged his shoulders. I looked at the instructor pointedly.

The instructor glowered at both of us for a long time before shouting out, "Start up the sparring again!"

I smirked at him and nodded my approval. "Thank you for coming to your senses, sir." With my words hanging thickly in the air, I turned my back on both of them and started helping the others fix their mistakes once again.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Jack looking extremely nervous. _When will our instructors learn that constant pressure isn't going to help us? Idiots_ , I thought angrily, averting my gaze.

My mother still hadn't come back. I could only imagine what was being said between she and my hopefully former trainers. Whatever it was, I was sure she would be angry when she came back. She was never _not_ angry.

Lost in my wandering thoughts, I was startled to hear the sharp crash of metal falling against metal and I winced. I didn't even have to turn around to know that Jack had lost his sword again.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The instructor slapped him across the face and I cringed on his behalf. But I felt the familiar fire of anger licking at my insides; he hit my friend!

The man was losing control fast, so I made a blind dash for Jack as the fuming instructor roughly grabbed him by his shoulders and shoved him to the ground. "That's it, boy! I know what will teach ya. _You're getting the drone_."

All reality came to a screeching halt around me and I forgot how to breath. The only thing I could hear now was my own pounding heartbeat and the utterance of " _You're getting the drone_ " echoing over and over again in my mind.

 _No, no, NO_! I thought in sheer panic. _Not again_. . . .

"Please, no!" Jack cried, backing away like a frightened animal. "I'm sorry, I-I'll do better, I promise!"

"Too damn late. You're getting the drone, boy."

I was frozen where I stood, unable to move. Suddenly, I felt so, so _cold_ . . . I thought I was going to be sick right there. Subconsciously, my fingers moved to clasp around the dog tags hanging from my neck.

"Please, please, no!"

"Stop your whining and beggin', boy. That's not how things work around here," the instructor snarled in his face as he started manhandling Jack to follow him.

I saw the scene play before my eyes but still couldn't move. But suddenly the scene changed and history was repeating itself. Jack's dark hair grew blond and his eyes blue. His jaw was set and his eyes determined. The only one screaming there was me, and he gently told me to hush down, bending down to leave a kiss onto my forehead to comfort me. But then he was being led away, away, away. . . .

And instead of the man leading him away, it was my mother. . . .

I snapped out of the memory with a whole new vengeance. There was no way I could ever let what happened before occur again. "NO!"

All eyes were focused on me now and the room was dead silent. The instructor, looking incredulous, whispered, " _What was that_?"

"I said no." Suddenly I could move again and my legs were running straight for Jack. With a whole new energy, I positioned myself between Jack and the instructor. "I'm not letting you take him to the drone."

Sometimes we used robotic drones to train and fight against, but everyone knew that when drones were used as a punishment that their skill levels were raised above the skills of the child facing it, so the child would unquestionably lose and learn a harsh lesson.

The last time a child was sent to battle a drone for punishment, it ended tragically. And I wouldn't let it happen again.

The man's eyes were wide with outrage. "You don't have a say in the matter, girl."

"If you won't hear my words then I'll have to fight you," I declared, dead serious. It was then that it occurred to me that it was far too late to back down, not that I was planning to. I hadn't ever stood up to an instructor like this before; nobody had. It simply did not happen.

Before I could stop him, the instructor grabbed me by the upper arms and sent me hurtling toward the metal floor. The impact dazed me for a moment and that moment allowed the man to grab Jack and lead him to where the drones were.

"No, dammit!" I shouted, scrambling off the floor to race after them. But in my rush I didn't have enough time to prepare for the fist the man sent flying my way. The fist crashed against my face and I tumbled to the floor once again.

A bitter, salty taste filled my mouth that I instantly recognized as blood. I looked over to see the rest of the children staring at me with shock and awe. "Thanks for helping, guys. Really," I said sarcastically.

None of them met my gaze and I painfully got to my feet, forcing my now aching legs to follow Jack's yells. There was no way I could possibly let this happen.

His begs and cries were growing louder and louder now, and I pushed myself forward. The agonizing memories coursed through my veins like poison and I couldn't stop thinking, _Not again . . . Not again_.

I burst through the door to see the control room above the small arena that was used when the children fought the drone. The instructor was angrily fiddling at the control buttons, and when I craned my neck I could vaguely see the imprint of Jack in the arena with a drone that appeared to be beginning to awaken. There was a lever on the control panel that controlled the skill level of the drone, and the instructor was lifting it far higher than what it should have been.

Something snapped inside of me. A feral instinct entered my mind and I unleashed my usually dormant rage.

Before I knew it, I had the instructor pinned to the ground beneath me with my elbow to his throat. Jack's screams became terrified, and I realized that the instructor had managed to turn the drone on before I could take him down.

I made a leap to the lever, but the guard tackled me to the ground this time. I wrestled with him and desperately tried to throw him off just as pain started fueling Jack's cries.

A red haze blurred my vision, and I managed to find the strength to kick the instructor away. My hand was an inch away from the lever before he grabbed me again, and I finally gave in to my anger.

It was almost like I was watching myself do it. I spun around, expertly punched him in the neck three times, and then grabbed the gun from my belt and stood over him. I had all the power right then.

His eyes widened with panic and he whimpered, "No, please!"

My voice came out as a rabid snarl. "You didn't listen to his begs, now why should I listen to yours?"

"Please don't kill me!"

"Stop your whining and begging, sir. That's not how things work around here." His eyes became alight with horror as he realized I was throwing what he had said to Jack back into his face.

But a small, rational part of me convinced me not to kill him. I didn't want to listen to that part, I really didn't, but I just couldn't bring myself to kill him. I didn't show mercy, though. Instead, I shot a bullet into his thigh.

He roared in agony, squirming like a worm as blood started to leak from the wound. But I didn't care. I used his incapacity to my advantage and calmly stepped over his wriggling from to pull down the lever and turn off the drone.

"Jack?" I yelled as opened the trapdoor that opened into the arena and slid down the latter. "Jack?"

"Double-edge?"

I let loose a sigh of pure relief when I saw him still standing on his feet. Blood, though, began to visibly stain his black sleeveless shirt. "Jack, are you okay?"

"It's not deep," he assured me, carefully putting pressure on the wound and wincing a little. "I'll be fine."

"That's good," I breathed.

He looked me straight in the eye and said, " _Thank you_."

I wasn't one to be shy or modest, but I wasn't in the mood to gloat. "I'm glad I did it," I said, leaving it at that.

Jack shifted awkwardly. "Why, um, did Instructor Wright to stop the drone?"

 _So that's his name! Why haven't I figured that out by now_? I thought idly. "He had a change of heart."

He looked at me curiously. "He did? That doesn't make sense."

"Well, it was a forced change of heart . . . Same difference." I beckoned him to follow me, and he did so, a little suspiciously.

We climbed up the ladder with ease and I opened up the trapdoor to the instructor's groans of pain. I felt Jack's shocked gaze bore into my back as we came into view of Wright.

He didn't look too great. His leg was bleeding profusely and sweat was pouring down his blanching face. I couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for him. A little.

"You _shot_ him?" I winced a little at his tone, but as I turned back around I saw that his expression was filled with awe.

"I had to get to the lever, and he was making it difficult. And I got mad. And, well, that's what happened," I said softly, staring at the ground.

"When your mother finds out . . ." He trailed off ominously.

"I know," I whispered, feeling an icy trickle of fear drip down my spine. "But it was worth it. You could have been killed. It's not like it's the first time the drone has killed," I finished darkly.

His eyes widened with recollection and sadness. "I almost forgot . . . I'm so sorry, Double-edge. I-I don't know what to say. He was my best friend. I miss him too."

I refused to make eye contact after that, afraid that he would see the raw grief surely evident in my eyes.

Suddenly, someone appeared in the doorway, her icy eyes blazing with fury and her lips turned up into a snarl. She looked murderous.

Even with the fear threatening to eat me up inside, I held my head and shoulders high, looking her straight in the eye. "Mother."


	4. Chapter 2: Aryaliana

**A/N: Hey, how's it going? This chapter introduces the second of the three main characters and we have (and the third at the very end), so please read, enjoy, and review! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Warning: Jane Foster is very OOC in this story.**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing and nobody in the Marvel Universe is ours, but we do own our OCs.**

 **Chapter 2: Aryaliana**

"I can't take it anymore!" I screamed, throwing my pillows across the room and kicking my bed.

My father deftly dodged the incoming projectiles and raised his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Now, Aryaliana-"

"DON'T "NOW, ARYALIANA" ME, DANG IT!" I accented my words with a hearty stomp.

"Love, we can't keep doing this! You're gonna bring down the entire castle," he pleaded, dodging a mirror this time. The information of the mirror flooded my brain, making my meltdown worse. It shattered all over the floor, causing guards to rush in.

"Sir," one of them said, looking scared.

"LEAVE US NOW!" I screamed, causing the guard to clutch his throat. My mind was working without my permission and I collapsed to the floor as the pain began to overwhelm my brain. I tried so hard to fight my emotions that were causing this poor man to die before me.

"Ari, follow my voice. You are stronger than what you are doing. You WILL overcome this. You just have to learn to let go." My father's voice was distant but gave me enough to focus on.

I could feel the wet tears running down my cheeks. Trying to keep calm, I chose something to concentrate on and began to outthink my emotions until my body decided to give up on me. I welcomed the darkness that took over my mind.

Opening my eyes, I felt dazed and confused. It was nice to have control over my actions again, but still I wasn't used to the amount of knowledge contained in my under-developed brain.

I chose to keep my eyes closed because I needed time to think of my apology, but I knew I was in the healing room because I could feel the all too familiar cotton bedsheets, whereas most were made of silk.

"Aryaliana, I know you're awake," my father's deep, powerful voice said.

I peeled open my eyelids and stared at him with wide eyes. "Daddy . . ."

He seemed calm enough, not appearing outwardly angry about my previous outburst. That was a good sign. "Yes, Aryaliana?"

"Daddy. . . ," I started again, my voice growing choked up. "Daddy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like that."

He released a big long sigh and eyed me with sadness. "I know, love. I know it's been hard for you lately."

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks and I stifled a sob. "Daddy, you don't get it. I can't take this anymore. I just can't."

He grasped my small, dainty hand with his much larger one. "Love, I have tried everything possible. I have scoured all of Asgard for someone who has any knowledge about your gift, but so far it has been in vain," he explained, looking grim.

"Some gift," I muttered, and he squeezed my hand tighter for extra comfort.

As he held my hand, I was able to hear the subtle thoughts in his mind. Suddenly, I heard "Avengers," and "help," quite loudly, which meant they held fervent emotion.

"Who are the Avengers?" I looked at him, pleading for help.

"I told you to not read my mind," he said sternly, giving me a look and letting go of my hand. He looked a little more like the god he was then, not just my father.

I stared back until he finally relented. "That was not for you to know. They are not going to be able to help you, they are just people I know well," he lied. He wouldn't meet my eyes and I started to get a little angry.

"We both know you think they can help. Please don't lie to me. I need help."

"Aryaliana, please, these people are dangerous and I don't want to know what they would do to you," he said quickly.

"Daddy, look what I am doing to OUR people. I almost killed one just today. I am the dangerous one," I cried, hugging my knees to my chest and slowly rocking back and forth.

"No means no," he insisted firmly. "Please just relax and sleep."

"UGH!" I didn't want another scene so I just slid off the bed and walked to my room without another word. Once there, I lay on my bed and rested my thoughts.

Slowly, sleep overcame me and I fell into a deep dreaming state. My dream wasn't just any nightmare, though, it was a memory.

 _I was about eleven-years-old when I first realized something was wrong with me. I had woken up from terrible dreams and it felt like someone was stretching and hitting my head. Attempting to help myself, I walked sluggishly toward the healing room when I fell to the ground and began screaming as pain started commandeering my entire body._

 _My parents came rushing to my side as I began seizing and my mother grabbed my arm to steady me. It was a mistake because the moment our skin touched . . . bad things happened._

 _I found out things that I never wanted to know, things that scarred me for life. I found out that my mom had never wanted me. She and I never had been close, because I was a pure Daddy's girl and she had always been aloof and standoffish, but this brought it to a whole new level. She didn't want me to be her child._

 _Unbeknownst to me, I was slowly sucking the life out of her. My father had to pry me away from her as I slipped into a state of limbo._

 _My mind was alive, so so alive but I couldn't move my body. My mind was active and growing, but I was trapped in the limbo land._

 _I was trapped in that coma for an entire year. My father would sit by me, begging me to awaken to no avail. But he never gave up on me. . . ._

I woke up drenched in a cold sweat. It had been a few months since I had awoken from the coma. That entire year, trapped in my body while my mind was fully aware, was torture.

Now, a few months later, I was slowly losing control. Everything I touched, its entire history would flood into my mind and the information would overwhelm me. So, so much information was clouding my mind and I couldn't take it anymore. I tried not to touch anything, but it just didn't work.

I was going insane, I just knew it. I felt bad for my father, as he had to handle my constant meltdowns. Sometimes, when I was out of control, I hurt people but I really, really didn't mean to. I just couldn't control it.

My decision was made. If these "Avengers" could help me, then I would go to them if my father didn't want to bring them to me. Quiet as a mouse, I changed out of my nightgown into one of my beautiful dresses. It framed my form like a shimmery waterfall, and was designed with intricate gleaming chains. I idly ran a brush through my curls of bright red hair and pulled on some slippers.

So Daddy wouldn't notice my sudden change of clothes, I pulled on one of my floor length robes to cover my dress. I didn't know what to expect in Midgard, so I started packing a satchel and gathering my weapons. Shifting through my closet, I pulled out my sword, my dagger, and my bow and quiver full of arrows and placed them gently on my bed.

I snuck downstairs and into the kitchens, where I swiped a canister of water and some food that would last the journey, before quietly slipping back to my room. Lastly, but most certainly not least, I placed my stuffed unicorn named "Sparkles" into the satchel and I was ready.

My plan was to invade my father's mind and find where the Avengers were located, then go on a trek to find them before my father found out I was gone. I inconspicuously slipped into the hall and tiptoed along the fuzzy carpet to my parents' quarters.

They were arguing, which they had often been doing since I woke up from my coma. My mom didn't like my powers or outbursts, and my dad always tried to defend me.

I knocked lightly on the door and waited for the arguing to stop. Daddy opened the door and his gaze softened when he saw me.

"I wanted to say goodnight, Daddy," I whispered, placing my hand on his muscular arm. I entered Dad's mind and started searching for what I wanted. Whenever I did this, he tended to sense the unwanted invasion, but he seemed too distracted about my mother to notice.

I picked apart various thoughts, but the one of the "Avengers" was rather easy because he seemed to be constantly thinking about it. They lived in Midgard, in a city called New York and the members of the Avengers were Tony Stark, Steve Rodgers, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and my _father_. Daddy hadn't mentioned that he was one of them. . . .

"Goodnight, love," he murmured, leaning down to place a tender kiss on my forehead. I looked over at my mom to see if she would like to say goodnight, but she wouldn't even look at me. Daddy noticed this and sighed, but I shrugged it off and walked back into the hall. He gave me one last apologetic smile before shutting the door, and their arguing presumed once more.

Grinning mischievously to myself (my plan was working!), I skipped back to my room and replaced my night robe with my silk black travel cloak. Slipping on my weapons' belt, I placed my sword and dagger into their holsters and slung the bow and quiver over my shoulder. Lastly, I snatched the satchel and rested the strap onto my shoulder, and then I was off.

New York City of Midgard was my destination. Feeling I was efficiently informed of the place through his memories, I strolled down the hall, through the castle, and right out the front door. Unfortunately, a guard was stationed there and barked, "Princess, where are you going?"

"The meadow," I lied easily. I could tell he was an idiot.

"At nighttime?" he asked suspiciously, looking at all of my weapons. "Does your father know about this?"

"It's prettiest at night. But," my voice grew more forceful, and grabbing his arm, I penetrated his rather simple mind. Some minds were easier to invade than others, and his was a piece of cake. Normally, it hurt for the information to flood through my brain but if I was purposefully invading the person, not so much. "You aren't going to question me further and if King Thor asks, I'm in the meadow. Got it?"

His now cloudy eyes cleared up and he nodded firmly. "Yes, Princess. You are going to the meadow and if His Highness asks then that is what I will tell him."

"Thank you," I chirped sweetly, stalking past him into the pleasantly cool night air. The gentle breeze felt lovely against my skin, and I smiled as it tickled.

I had to be doing the right thing. Daddy had clearly made up his mind; he didn't want me to see them. So I had to take matters into my own hands.

My first stop was the stables and I darted in to greet my black stallion, True. "Hello, boy," I crooned, caressing his fuzzy head. He nuzzled against my hand and I giggled softly. "We're going for a ride tonight."

He nickered cheerfully, already trotting in a circle with excitement. "Quiet, boy, we'll get caught."

I opened the stable door and cringed as it gave off a loud squeak. "Come on, True. Hurry along now."

He lowered his head and walked over to the fence where I climbed on. Since I had come in contact with him so many times before, especially in the last few months, the stream of information hardly bothered me as I stroked his mane. His fur was silky soft and midnight black and when I felt the fur beneath my fingers I was able to read his thoughts. Often we would play games and talk. True was my only real friend I could trust.

"Let's go, boy!" I said happily, spurring him into a trot. The wind tousled my hair as he picked up speed, and I let loose a shout of excitement. I never got to go on adventures like this; Daddy was far too overprotective.

I still knew exactly where to go. Daddy had made the journey before and I had watched him go, but I had never traveled it. Soon enough, the lush green grass beneath us turned into a gleaming rainbow sheen.

We raced across the Bifröst, the Rainbow Bridge, and as we reached the golden dome, I dismounted and walked to kneel in front of the protector of the bridge, Heimdall. He was very wise and had lived long before I was born. He was blind yet he saw more than the mind could comprehend.

"Hello Princess Aryaliana, what brings you to the Bifröst?" his voice boomed. It always gave an intimidating feel to everyone, including me.

"I seek passage to Midgard," I tried to say as bravely and strongly as possible. "Your father doesn't approve. Why do you still choose to go?"

 _Stupid all powerful knowledge_ , I thought to myself. He could see the unseen and apparently hear the unspoken, so he gave me a look when he heard my last thought. _Dang it_!

"You know what I must do, Heimdall. It is the only way I can keep our people safe. Safe from me."

He stepped down from his place and came over to me. "What you seek is with the true intentions of purity, for that I am pleased, but what you seek will not only be putting you alone in a world unbeknownst to you, but also ignoring the words of your King and, more importantly, your father."

"Please, Heimdall. I will be fine. I'm one of the most skilled fighters of our realm and possess a lot more knowledge than most. I need to do right by my people, sir. Let me do this for them . . . and my father. He suffers while trying to keep me calm. I hate that. He needs peace, I need peace, and our people need peace."

"Your words contain much passion, dear. Please know Midgard is nothing like our realm. People are illiterate, selfish, and criminals."

"I can handle myself, Heimdall, I promise," I said with the utmost sincerity. "Very well, I trust you, my dear. Stay safe and keep your head about you. Know I will not lie for you. When Thor comes he will know you are in Midgard. And he will not be happy."

"I know, and thank you." I rose to hug him and he gave me a little squeeze.

"Are you bringing True?"

"I think it would be best for him to stay here. He needs to be safe." I turned around and told True goodbye and to run back to the castle. He gave me a nuzzle and galloped across the Bifröst and I watched him until he disappeared into the darkness.

"Are you ready, Princess Aryaliana?"

"Yes," I said quietly. "Yes, I am."

"Then your passage is granted. You may go on." He stepped aside and gestured for me to continue on the Rainbow Bridge.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, bowing my head with deep reverence. I didn't have much time to spare, though, so I left it that and continued along the shimmering path.

I was excited. Never, I had I ever done something so daring. My father, I knew, would be furious but I just couldn't find it in me to care. I was living in the moment, the beautiful, beautiful moment.

Heimdall turned his sword and spoke in our native language the secret of the frost. Light overcame me and I was soon pulled into the Bifröst and landed hard onto the grass. The strong energy created our symbol burned into the lush grass, now black in some areas. Off in the distance there were beautiful lit-up towers high enough to reach the clouds. Remembering the place in Daddy's memory, I saw this beautiful city and knew I was in the right place, even though I would have a long walk without any method of transportation.

With no other thought I began to walk toward the bright land of New York and before I made it twenty minutes in, a convoy of cars surrounded me, the headlights creating a spotlight directly on me. At this moment I was glad to have studied Midgard a bit in school.

They all stepped out of their cars and were ready to draw their guns if I made any sudden movements.

A man stepped out from the crowd and toward me. "Please put your hands where I can see them. We won't hurt you unless you are a threat to us."

Calculating my movements, I remained in place. My cloak was concealing my weapons so I had the upperhand. "I mean no harm, Mr. Coulson."

Here, for some reason, I felt better with my powers. It was like I had control for once; it felt good. I remembered his name from Daddy's thoughts, as his name came up and matched this face to it.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, trying to remain cool.

"I know a lot of things, sir."

"Well you know my name so why don't you tell me yours?" He was trying to warm me up into trusting him. I didn't fall for that.

"That's not of your concern." Coulson scowled, looking rather irritated. "It was quite nice to meet you all, but I must be going."

Using my powers as tentatively as possible, I sent out a mental wave that forced them all unconscious. "Sweet dreams." Unfortunately, that usage of power drained me to the point where I almost collapsed. _Must keep going_ , I told myself.

It took me quite a while to make it to the city, but when I did it was worth it. It was even more majestic in person. Midgardians were milling around everywhere, seemingly in a huge hurry. A few took the time to cast me odd looks, and I realized my clothes were much different than theirs.

I carefully walked through the ceaseless maze of Midgardians, trying not to touch anyone to avoid any accidents. I was growing flustered; I was utterly lost.

Finally, I made it to a block that was a _little_ less crowded and looked around. A boy about my age wearing a black leather suit was wandering around, hands in pockets. He had a boy and a quiver full of arrows strapped over his shoulders. His stance, though, was far from threatening. He just looked bored, and I decided to ask him for directions.

I strolled up to him and tapped on his shoulder. I drew my hand away before too much information could flood in, but I knew I could trust him. He spun around, and his mouth fell open when he saw me. "Oh my God."


	5. Chapter 3: Charlotte - Part 1

**Disclaimer: We sadly, so sadly don't own anybody or anything in the Marvel Universe :(. We do, though, own our OCs.**

 **Warning: This chapter has some violence in it. There is a beating at the beginning, that while it isn't too graphic, it is a bit violent. Also, there's a bit of swearing here and there.**

 **A/N: This is a very, very long chapter so we've decided to make this into a two-parter :D. The second part will be uploaded very quickly after the first. Please read, enjoy, and review! Thanks :)!**

 **Chapter 3: Charlotte - Part 1**

A hiss of pain escaped from my lips as the whip rained down on me once more. The blows just kept coming and coming onto my back and shoulders and I felt like I was slowly losing my mind.

It wasn't like I hadn't been beaten before. With my smart mouth, it wasn't an unusual occurrence. But this was different; I hadn't been beaten like this in a long time and the memories pummeled my psyche as I relived the horror.

The blows just kept on coming and coming and coming. _It'll be over soon_ , I kept telling myself. But it was a lie, a beautiful lie that kept me going, kept me sane. It wasn't over soon. I would never be sure how long it lasted, because when you're being beaten like that, you lose all concept of time. There's no more past or future. Just the harsh, harsh present that never seems to end. . . .

I could feel my mother's incandescent rage through each stroke of the wretched thing. It did her talking for her, and it was not an eloquent speaker.

By this point, I was becoming delirious. There was nothing I could do to escape. I tried to shut myself away in my mind, but the growing pain just kept bringing me back. I was trapped in my own misery.

My mother occasionally growled, "You deserve this" or "Hopefully you will finally learn your lesson" but I could barely hear her. It was like I was underwater, the water clouding my senses, only a faint echo reminding me that someone was talking above the surface.

I was drowning, drowning in the pain. I couldn't take it anymore. My mother just kept hitting and hitting and hitting. . . .

But I refused to cry. I winced, cringed, cowered, even let loose an occasional yelp. But there were no tears that could be seen glistening in my eyes, no sobs that could be heard. I didn't even know if I knew how to cry.

Suddenly, in my faraway daze, I noticed that the whipping ceased and, before I could regain control, I collapsed to the ground. The pain was overwhelming me and my stomach churned with it. I vomited all over the dusty ground before me and gasped for breath.

"Get up, child!" Her talon-like hands sank into my shoulder, yanking me up to a kneeling position and I had to stifle a scream. Sweat was pouring down my skin along with warm blood and I was sure I looked positively ghastly.

"You defied authority and shot one of our own. That is a heinous crime that is deserving of this punishment. You have been defying us for too long, and this took it too far. What do you say to this?" she boomed, her voice echoing down the halls.

I couldn't speak, my breath still coming in ragged gasps.

"Dammit, child! Even now you are defiant. Perhaps you haven't learned your lesson?"

With that said, I managed to find my voice. "No, no more." I could have sweetened the deal by saying "please" or begging, but that was not an option. I would not resort to groveling- I would rather take another beating.

"Well, then, you must stop this rebellion. Will you stop this?" I was a lot of things, but dishonest was not typically one of them so I chose silence as my response.

"Let me _rephrase_ this," she spat. "SUBMIT!"

That single word held so much power around here. It was the final warning, so to speak. No one had ever dared ignore the order, so I didn't know what would happen if I denied. I had been told it before, albeit rarely. Obeying was my only real option those times, and that was my only option now.

But something inside me snapped and I knew right then that it wasn't going to heal. My mother pushed me too far, past my breaking point. I was already undeniably broken inside, but she ripped apart the remains. And I. Was. Done.

A new strength awakened inside of me, mixing with my anger. With my limbs screaming in protest, I got to my feet and faced my mother, my head held high. "No."

The single word sent the walls vibrating with its power. My mother took a few step backwards as if I had struck her, shock and outrage contorting her beautiful features. " _What did you just say_?"

Suddenly, I had all of the control and I knew it. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I grinned at her coldly. "Did I stutter?"

She spluttered and seemed to choke on her own saliva. "I'm giving you a chance to back down. I suggest you take it, child."

I was cocky then, too cocky. But my newfound power and strength was making me giddy. It masked the pain. "My name's not "child", you know. It's Charlotte. Or Double-edge. Pick one."

"You _dare_ -"

"Yes, Mother," I said almost lazily. "I dare. I am done with all of the shit you put me through."

"I am doing you a _favor._ All of this training, this discipline, will make you such a powerful warrior," she said, her eyes gleaming with ambition.

"Maybe I don't want to be a soldier. All of these kids here have been _kidnapped_."

"They all showed valuable traits to our cause-"

"That doesn't make it okay!" I shouted, stepping forward to get into her face. "They all had _lives_. They had families and friends and homes and you ripped them away from all of that."

"They will thank me-"

"NO THEY WON'T!" I screamed, shoving her backwards and sending her spiraling backwards, the whip flying from her hand. She looked up at me, stunned. I was fully aware, though, that I didn't have long before that surprise turned into violent ire.

I stood over her, trembling with rage, and I had all of the power right now. "They won't thank you. I won't thank you. They blame you and I blame you! And, most of all, _Lucky_ blamed you."

She sharply sucked in a breath, and for a split second I saw sadness in her eyes. But that second passed and I decided I must have imagined it.

"You blame me for Lucas's death." It wasn't a question, merely a statement of fact. And she had the goddamn nerve to look amused. That hit an extremely frayed nerve.

"OF COURSE I DO!" I bellowed, punching the air in front of me. "It was YOUR fault he died! YOUR. DAMN. FAULT."

"We've been through this before, child. I would've thought you'd be over it by now," she sighed.

I glared at her with the ferocity of a million suns. "I didn't _get over it_. How could I? You killed him! Your own son. My _brother_." My knees nearly buckled, all of my grief rushing back. "You killed your own son."

Her eyes gained an unfathomable look. "It was your fault he died, child. You should know that by now."

"Stop twisting reality!" I raged, a red haze dancing before my eyes. "He was protecting me, t-that's all. You sent him to his death."

She got to her feet carefully and gingerly. Her eyes looked like those of a predator in front of their next meal. She was preparing for the final blow. "He was protecting you. If he hadn't, it would have been you left dead. It should have been you," she murmured, her mask of control slowly slipping. In her own twisted way, she loved Lucky. At least more than me, which wasn't hard because she _didn't_ love me. . . .

For some reason, as much as I hated her, her words stabbed me like jagged knives. She wanted me dead, her _own daughter_. She just could not find it in her heart to care about me. I really shouldn't have cared, but the hurt I felt from her comments was crippling.

"It should have been you, not him. If it weren't for you, Lucas would still be _alive_ ," she drawled, savoring the effect her words had on me.

Blood roared in my ears and I heard every single one of my heartbeats like a jackhammer. _No, no_ , I battled with my own thoughts. _She's wrong. It's not true._

 _But what if she's right. . . ? Maybe it is my fault._ I pressed my hands to my ears so I wouldn't have to hear the horrible, horrible thoughts anymore.

My mother took a few calculated steps forward and it was clear she could see my inner turmoil. "You killed Lucas, child. Yes, the boy you so fondly called "Lucky". My son. You killed your own brother."

"NO!" I roared and I lost any ounce of restraint I possibly had, tackling her to the ground. Her body stiffened as she tried to throw me off, but I used this as an advantage to pin her down and punch her in the nose. Repeatedly.

Blood poured from her nostrils and she aimed a ferocious kick at me, hurtling me to the side. Suddenly, scaring the living hell out of me, her tall, graceful form morphed into something different entirely.

I had no idea my mother could turn into a tiger.

"What the _fu-_ -" My last word was cut off as the snarling wildcat took a mighty leap and pounced on me.

Searing pain rushed to my side and a loud crack rang through the air. "Damn," I gasped, trying to avoid her snapping jaw as she attempted to sink her teeth into my neck.

"No fair," I complained as I managed to roll out from under the deadly creature. "Why was I not informed of this?"

Her sharp blow to my gut proved as my only answer. Warm liquid began rolling down my stomach and I cursed under my breath. Right now, the adrenaline was covering the pain. But I couldn't imagine how I would feel later.

My single moment of distraction gave my mother the opportunity to attack me once more. Her claws dug into my shoulder and her rancid breath pelted my face.

"Are you going to kill me by drooling on me?" I sneered, and she growled darkly. "Because, if not, your terrible breath shall surely suffocate me."

Her claws were becoming uncomfortable now and it suddenly occurred to me how close I was to death. One bite to my jugular, one swipe to snap my neck . . . and it would be over.

There was no way I was about to die by the hands of my mother. A whole new wave of power surged through me following my silent revelation and, apparently, it overpowered the drugs in my system because fire started spewing from my hands.

"What the _hell_?" I shouted, mesmerized by the dancing flames.

The tiger hissed in a very human manner and tried to pin my hands to the ground with her claws.

I struggled underneath the deadly sharp weapons until a thought struck me like lightning. _Am I really willing to do this_? I thought, but I came to a decision once my mother's jaws hovered dangerously close to my throat again.

In one sudden movement, I wriggled my hands out from under her claws with the fire still going strong and pressed them right into her face.

I winced as she yowled in agony, leaping away and tossing her mighty head back as flames momentarily licked at her face. It was then that I realized fur didn't catch fire easily as it quickly extinguished, but the damage was done. The tiger, whimpering, slowly morphed back into my mother, clothes and all.

The fire bursting from my hands flickered out as shock truly entered my system. _My mom is a tiger, and I can shoot fire . . . Am I going insane_?

I gasped when I saw my mother's face. The beautiful features were now scorched and red.

"You little demon," she said quietly, stroking her burns and flinching every time her finger came into contact with them.

"You tried to kill me," I pointed out.

It was then that my mother and I both noticed the gun sitting by the edge of the room. Before my beating, my mother had thrown my group of weapons across the room and out of reach. But the gun was closest.

She and I shared a challenging gaze before we both started scrambling for the gun. We both played dirty. She whipped her leg back and tried to knock me away, and I grabbed her foot to slow her down.

My mother was closer to the gun and my heart beat faster with panic. As soon as she got a hold of it, she would shoot me. I just knew it.

In a final desperate ploy, I sprang forward and landed straight on her back, bringing her to the ground. " _Get off_!" she shouted.

Still on top of her, I crawled forward and stretched my hand forward until I got a grip on the gun. My mom's arms snaked around my neck, but before she could choke the consciousness out of me, I elbowed her backwards and shuffled away.

I hastily got to my feet and stood over her, pointing the gun at her threateningly. "Check mate," I whispered, cocking the Glock.


	6. Chapter 3: Charlotte - Part 2

**A/N: Here's the second part of chapter 3! Told ya it'd be quick XD. Anyway, please read, enjoy, and review! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Marvel=not ours :(.**

 _My mother was closer to the gun and my heart beat faster with panic. As soon as she got a hold of it, she would shoot me. I just knew it._

 _In a final desperate ploy, I sprang forward and landed straight on her back, bringing her to the ground. "Get off!" she shouted._

 _Still on top of her, I crawled forward and stretched my hand forward until I got a grip on the gun. My mom's arms snaked around my neck, but before she could choke the consciousness out of me, I elbowed her backwards and shuffled away._

 _I hastily got to my feet and stood over her, pointing the gun at her threateningly. "Check mate," I whispered, cocking the Glock._

Her eyes glimmered with an emotion I couldn't read. "Do it. I dare you."

My forehead crumpled with confusion, and I shifted nervously on my feet. I thought she would be scared. "What?"

She had the nerve to laugh out loud. "Shoot me. Come on, go ahead."

My finger tightened on the trigger and the smug smile melted off her face. "Don't think I won't."

She stretched her arms out wide, daring me to shoot. My finger stayed frozen on the trigger. "I'm giving you an open invitation."

The gun was trembling in my hand. I wanted to shoot her, I really, really did. I wanted her to feel some of the pain she had inflicted on me my entire life. But for a split second, I saw an imprint of my brother standing next to me, his shaggy blond hair falling messily over his face like always. His eyes begged me not to do it.

Whether it was my mind and conscience playing tricks on me or my brother finding a way to talk to me, I just didn't know. But I listened to him. I couldn't bring myself to do it, however much I loathed the woman.

Not only could I not bring myself to kill her, but a much bigger idea entered my head. This was a chance, a blindingly rare chance to finally put an end to the place. For good.

She expected me to lower the gun and back down, but I did something unexpected. I reached forward, quick as a flash, and pulled her up. A steady grip on the gun, I placed it gently against her skull and wrapped my arm around her neck, pulling her tall form down to my five-foot-two height.

She was my hostage now. I knew if I shot her, then the other instructors and guards would not hesitate to kill me. But they couldn't if I had a gun to her head. "What are you doing?" she asked angrily.

I smirked. "Come on, Mother. I thought you were intelligent. I'm disappointed." She growled something unintelligible. "C'mon, we're gonna go on a little trip."

Without waiting for a response, I slowly started walking forward with her, timing my steps with hers.

"Answer my question, child!"

"I don't think you're in a position to order me around, honestly," I sang. She wriggled but I dug the Glock harder against her head. "Stop moving already. It's annoying."

A great idea popped into my head when I rested my eyes on a fire alarm. The institution was made of both metal and wood, but mostly wood, so there was an alarm there in case the wood parts caught ablaze.

"Don't you dare!"

I yanked down the alarm and the sharp ring that followed was like music to my ears. "This isn't going to _work_ -" she started to complain.

"For God's sake, will you shut up already?" Surprisingly, she actually did keep quiet and I was able to drag her forward in peace.

"You're going to dismantle everything I've worked for!" she suddenly shouted. "And I will let him down . . . everybody will . . ."

"Him?" I inquired. "Who's him?"

"Nobody of your concern," she said defensively.

"Whatever, your problem, not mine." I didn't know how wrong I was.

I was inching down the halls, taking extra care to maneuver around the corners with my mother firmly unable to escape. The main elevator in the center of this hellhole was my destination. Normally, the elevator was extremely heavily guarded and there was absolutely no chance of escape. The elevator would still be guarded, but I had a hostage so they would be forced to stand down.

I was just beginning to hear the faint sounds of running feet and a huge smile broke out on my face once I realized it had to be the other children. "They're coming." My mother's body grew tense beneath my hold.

"Almost there," I said too softly for her to hear. "Then this will all be over."

There it was. The main elevator. There were other elevators, but this was the only one I knew of its exact location. The guards bolted up in alarm once they saw me, and darted forward with guns at the ready.

"Take another step and I shoot!" I shouted, tightening my grip on the Glock. They faltered in their step and looked to my mother for direction.

"Stand down," she choked out as if it physically pained her.

"And get the hell out of my way!" I added cheerfully. The pounding footsteps were growing closer and closer. Any second, they would be in sight and their confused yet eager faces would be alight.

"Take a moment to reflect on what you're doing," my mother tried to negotiate. "I've trained you your entire life to be _strong_. You don't want to give that up."

"I've always been strong and I always will be," I countered. "You had nothing to do with it."

"You all will be excellent warriors and assassins," she coaxed as if that was what everybody wanted. "And all of that training will pay off once our revolution begins."

"Revolution? For what?" At her silence that followed, I insisted, "Tell me! I've been a pawn for you my entire life. At least tell me why."

Obviously, she was trying to grasp at any scraps of control she had left and refusing to respond was her way of it, much to my frustration. But before I could badger or threaten it out of her, the first of the children appeared around the corner. As I predicted, they looked quite bewildered but also excited.

"Jail break!" I screamed, ecstasy fueling my tone. They skidded in their tracks and stared at me with wide eyes, trying to understand the situation. "This is your time to escape! Get in the elevator! They won't stop you, I swear. GO!"

Tentatively, they tiptoed past the guards as if they didn't then they would be attacked and brought down. But slowly, they gained more confidence once they realized that they were safe and started cheering while picking up speed.

"Go in groups!" I ordered. "Jeez, don't push each other. Wait your turn."

One group at a time, the children crammed into the elevator and let it lift them to freedom. I knew that once they would be lifted to the place above, whatever it was, that they would be waiting for my guidance. I orchestrated this, after all.

Some of the children looked emotionless; the shock was overwhelming them. Other children were growing weepy-eyed with happiness, recognizing this as their chance for freedom. But I could feel the joy radiating from every single one of them.

When the final group was ready to go up, they wildly signalled for me to join them and Jack, who was standing in front of them, yelled. "Double-edge, c'mon!" A lot of them echoed him, saying, "Get in, Double-edge," or "Hurry, Double-edge."

"I'll meet you up there," I assured. "Go up without me."

"Double-edge?" Jack's brow creased with confusion. "You're escaping too, right?"

"Jack, once you get up there I need you to jam the elevator. And once you're up there, stay out of sight in case they find another way to follow."

"What do you mean jam the elevator?"

"So they can't follow using this elevator. Please, Jack. Jam the elevator once you get up there," I ordered.

"But Charlotte," he stuttered, his voice growing strained with panic. He had to be extremely serious if he used my real name. "Then you won't be able to come up."

"I know," I said slowly, trying to make him understand. "Jam the elevator!"

"But-"

"Just do it!" I snapped, losing my patience. "I have a plan. Trust me."

Reluctantly, with his eyes shining with tears, Jack pressed the button and they rose up out of sight and I was alone with the guards.

"This isn't over," my mother declared. "We're not just going to let you escape without a fight. Inconceivable."

"You already have," I pointed out. "All because you're selfish. You could have sent the guards after them if you wanted to. Of course you could have. But you value your own life more than this institution. Now, I wonder how the "him" you were talking about is going to react to this. Luckily, I won't be around long enough to find out. But have fun with that. Really."

"We'll find you," she spat, wriggling beneath my arms. "This isn't over."

I craned forward to whisper in her ear. My lips were only an inch away and I threatened ever so softly, "It is _not_ over. Trust me on that. I haven't had my revenge."

Quickly, I pushed my mother away from me but kept my gun trained on her so the guards knew not to attack. "I want to see your face," I explained slowly, savoring every word, "when I escape this place and you finally, _finally_ have no control over me."

A wicked sneer contorted my mother's lips and I knew that she just had to have the last word. "Well, I would like to know how you feel escaping this place . . . without your brother."

It was like I had taken another beating, tenfold. Ice replaced the blood flowing through my veins and I stared at her with wide eyes. Her smirk only grew more pronounced. "Oh, you didn't think of that? You're leaving him behind. You and the other children called him "Lucky", yet that's not very lucky at all."

I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe . . . she was right. All I had left of Lucky was his dog tags around my neck and an old picture of us in the side pocket of my cargo pants, taken when a nice guard managed to smuggle in a camera. That was all I had left of the only person I had ever loved and the only person who had ever loved me.

But then I realized, it was she that made it this way. She killed him; she was the reason why Lucky never got to be free.

My hands began to tremble with rage and an unfamiliar feeling coursed through them; a whole new round of fire started bursting from my hands and I dropped the gun. "And whose fault is that, Mother? Yours. You killed him."

Lucky would've wanted me to escape. He was the best big brother anyone could imagine, and he would want this for me because he was utterly selfless.

I made my decision. My brother would not have wanted me to become a murderer, so I wouldn't. But I knew in my heart that this institution had to be destroyed beyond repair. And with this realization, I welcomed the spewing fire and sent it spiraling towards the wood-beamed walls.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, her eyes blazing with panic. All of the guards backed up hastily, horror written all across their faces.

"Burning this place to the ground." I probably should have escaped, but the thought that my mother would kidnap more children and restart the institution was unbearable. So, I chose to start sprinting away from the elevator and freedom, and let the fire scorch and light up the walls on the way.

"Stop her!" came my mother's screech, but I was far more quick and agile than the lumbering guards.

The first shots started to ring out as soon as I skidded around the corner, missing me by mere inches. "Catch me if you can!" I taunted over my shoulder.

I set the maze of halls ablaze, always one step ahead of the incoming projectiles. There were a few close calls, though, where I would have to roll to the side and then scramble to my feet so I wouldn't be an easy target.

Even though my objective was to demolish the institution, I left the other elevators unburned and intact because my goal wasn't to kill them. They would be able to escape, but there would be no more institution for them to come back to.

Stupidly, I remembered how my mother had tossed my weapons to the side and decided that I wanted my sword back. I went a bit off-course, also shaking off my pursuers, and slipped back into the room my mother had beaten me in. There, lying on the ground, was my baby. I grabbed it as lightly and gently as possible to not leave scorch marks; I couldn't cease the stream of fire.

My sword firmly in place on my belt, I chose to leave my less treasured knives behind so it wouldn't weigh me down even more. Just as I heard the shouts of guards behind me become closer, I bolted through the other exit and resumed burning the walls around me.

I had ran through most of the halls and I was satisfied that there was no way the building could survive. Most of the guards had already left to escape by now, but my mother still followed.

"GET BACK HERE!" I smirked when my mother's shriek came hurtling around the corner. She was too late; the fire had left no mercy on this place and it was my time to make an exit. My anger rapidly decreasing as the reality of finally escaping burned itself into my mind, the fire shooting from my hands finally extinguished.

Running to the nearest elevator, I slammed the button repeatedly. They were closing in on me and I didn't have much time. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

"Going somewhere?" I slowly turned around to see my mother with my gun pointed at me.

My heart leapt as the elevator door finally opened up and I ducked inside. "Don't you dare!" she screamed, rushing forward. But suddenly, she skidded to a stop and steadied her gun instead. Her eyes were colder than ever.

 _Boom_! She fired the gun, the bullet headed straight for my head. My quick reflexes saved my life and I ducked to the floor with a fraction of a second to spare. The bullet whizzed past where my head would have been and implanted itself in the elevator wall. I stared at my mom with pure shock; she had tried to kill me- _again_! Her jaw was set and her eyes were blazing ice, so I knew she felt no regret.

Just as she was reloading the gun, the elevator door came down and acted as a shield to the second bullet. It didn't block her cries of sheer fury and frustration, though. I quickly got to my feet and pressed the button of the highest floor. "Until we meet again," I shouted through the door, "see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!"

I didn't get to hear her response because the elevator started to rise. I was doing what I had always dreamed of; escaping! It almost seemed surreal to me.

The elevator ride seemed like forever. As my adrenaline rush drained away, the pain began to set back in and I almost collapsed. I could barely breathe. _Hold on just a little bit longer_ , I begged myself.

The walls were collapsing in on me and I was a shivering mess. I was admittedly claustrophobic, though my brother was the only one who had ever known. At night, I spent my time in a hollow, metal cube in total darkness and without any blankets or pillows. The door would be opened at five in the morning exactly, and I would be met with a needle full of drugs. Almost always, I had been sent there after a beating, having to suffer in there alone, so _alone_.

I couldn't count the times I felt trapped in that cold, dark place with nothing to distract me from my pain. I had come to associate that place with pain, and thus my fear of small spaces was born. I shut my eyes tightly and waited for the elevator to reach the top floor.

And then, it happened. The final floor was here and the elevator door slid open to reveal a large warehouse of some sort and all of the children anxiously waiting. I sighed with pure relief.

"I'm back, baby!" All heads snapped around to look at me and Jack bolted forward.

"Double-edge!" He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug and I gasped at the jolts of pain that followed.

"Ow, Jack!" He quickly pulled away and appraised me, before his eyes dawned with realization.

"You got it that bad, huh? And all because of me," he added sadly.

"No, no!" I assured vehemently. "I chose to shoot the guard in the leg- he's fine, by the way. As I expected."

Before Jack could protest, another boy yelled out, "A lot of guards came up, but they seemed to think the whole thing was a lost cause and ditched. Are your mom and the other guards following?"

"Not at the moment," I replied. "They have other things to worry about right now." Jack looked at me curiously and I mouthed _Tell you later._ He nodded.

"So," one tall girl said nervously. "Are we free?" Other children echoed the question, and a hum of questions started rising from the crowd.

I stepped forward and cleared my throat so I could be heard. "We're free."

A moment of stunned silence followed until everyone broke out into a deafening cheer, all hugging each other or jumping up and down or even crying out of sheer joy. Even I joined in with cheer, throwing my head back and yelling with elation.

But I knew that my mother and the other guards would be wanting to escape soon, and my mother would invariably order the still-loyal guards with her to capture us, so I bellowed, "Follow me!"

Not letting the pain hold me back, I led the pace with a hearty trot and the pounding feet behind me assured that they were following.

The doors were in sight, and my heart beat even faster with anticipation. "Come on!" I hollered. "We're almost there!"

Everybody picked up the pace, tasting the freedom and excitement in the air. We were so, so close and then we were _there_.

I pushed open the doors and stepped into the bright sunlight.


	7. Chapter 4 - Part 1: Leo

**A/N: Hey, how's it going? This chapter is meant to be a fun one after all the angst of the Charlotte chapters, and this is where the Avengers are introduced! This is going to be in two parts because it's very long, but the parts might be pretty long, too. We've decided to update this story every Saturday, and we will try to stick to that, but we're freshmen in high school and the work load varies. But we'll try! Anyway, please read, enjoy, and review!**

 **P.S. Thanks so much to all of those people who have followed, alerted (is that the same thing as followed?), and favorited this story. Also, a special thanks to Julescapoles for being our first reviewer, and leaving three kind and helpful reviews! We really appreciate all of you.**

 **Chapter 4 - Part 1: Leo**

So, I was just minding my own business. S.H.I.E.L.D. sent me into the city to try to find this person that used the Bifröst earlier. They tried to ask my parents to do it, and other agents, but most of them were out on some mission that they refused to tell me about. So I was the default used to scope out the situation. My parents didn't know, and once they found out out that Fury sent me out I knew they would be majorly pissed. This is how it went:

 _"Go scope out the city," Fury demanded of me, and I glared at him. He just loved ordering people around._

 _"The person's not in the city yet. What's the point of that? And the agents that just went after her said they highly doubt she's even a threat."_

 _"Just do it, dammit!"_

 _"Okay, okay, jeez."_

He was so damn pleasant. Director Fury was shouting instructions into my earpiece when someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around. And, let me tell you, this someone was _hot_. She looked about my age, with bright red curly hair that went down to her mid-neck, and a face to die for. She was absolutely _stunning_ , and boy, was I stunned. "Oh my God," I whispered.

Her eyes were like blue crystals, and I was drowning in them. She was wearing really strange clothes though, like some royal dress of the 1600s, but I chose to let that go. Director Fury was still yelling in my ear, so I turned off the earpiece in a daze.

I didn't realize I was staring and gaping until she snapped her fingers. "Excuse me, I need some help."

I had to remember how to speak for a moment, then croaked out, "What's your name?"

"Aryaliana, Daughter of Thor, King of Asgard," she said proudly, and I just stared again. _Daughter of Thor? Like, Thunder God Thor? Like, big dude with a tacky cape who has unhealthy attachments to his hammer, Thor_? I thought. It dawned on me that she had to have been the person that used the Bifröst earlier. Well, she was no threat. "Who are you?" she prompted after a few moments of lingering silence.

"Uh, first off, there is no way I'm going to try to pronounce that."

"Call me Ari, then."

"Right, Ari. Um, I'm Leonid Barton, but you can call me Leo." I assumed that she probably wanted a full title, so I corrected, "Leonid Barton, Son of Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, Badass Assassins."

Her eyes widened with recognition and she squealed, "They're Avengers, are they not?"

"What's it to you?" I asked suspiciously.

"I've trekked all the way from Asgard to Midgard to see them! You see, I have a problem," she said, and then dove into a lengthy explanation where she described to me how she had these friggin' awesome (my words, not hers) mind control powers, but whenever she touched something all of its history would invade her mind.

"Can't you wear gloves or something?" She gave me a look that assured me I was being anything but helpful.

"Believe me, I've tried," she sighed. "It's just not enough. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Well, I think I know exactly who you need to see!" I said brightly, and her eyes lit up like blue stars. "Well, I mean, I'm _supposed_ to take you back to S.H.I.E.L.D., but if you really need help. . . ."

"Please, I need help," she begged me, batting her crystal blue eyes, and I caved like a flimsy treehouse in a tornado.

"Okay, then, I know exactly where to take you."

"Who?!" she asked eagerly, bouncing in place.

"Does the name "Tony Stark" ring any bells?"

She nodded slowly, thinking it over. "He's an Avenger, isn't he?"

"Yeah," I replied. "But he's also a genius who runs "Stark Industries," a business that makes weapons and technology and stuff. I'm _sure_ he can make something to help you. He is Iron Man, after all."

"Iron Man?" she asked, confused.

"I'll explain later," I assured her. "But now, let's go see Stark." She grinned at me, and her smile very nearly hypnotised me with its brightness. _This is turning out to be a really good day_ , I thought happily.

I gestured for her to follow, and I called a taxi and directed them to go to Stark Towers. They definitely didn't need directions. I had opened the door for her so she wouldn't have to touch it, and did her seatbelt for her.

"I've never been inside one of these," she muttered under her breath. I was about to ask whether they had cars in Asgard when I remembered about the taxi driver. He already gave her a strange look due to her dress and looked me weirdly due to my bow and arrows slung around my shoulder. He didn't want to drive me because of that, so I promised I wasn't going to hurt him and tipped him a little extra cash.

"Tell you later," I told her when she nodded for me to speak. I got comfortable, taking the quiver and bow off my back and resting it in my lap. She looked at them curiously.

"Those are unique-looking," she said, brushing a hand over them. She immediately gasped and drew her hand back, and I realized the memories had to be flooding her.

"They're a lot like my Dad's," I explained once her eyes cleared up.

"I know," she murmured, cradling her face in her hands and rocking back and forth.

"I'm sorry," I offered weakly, shifting awkwardly to air-pat her back so I wouldn't have to put her through that process again.

"It's all right," she said stoically, sitting up straight and taking deep breaths. "I'm okay now."

"Tony Stark will be able to help," I comforted, smiling at her.

She smiled back. "I hope so." She left it that, and we sat in a comfortable silence until the taxi driver pulled up near the sidewalk in front of Stark Towers.

I pulled another wad of cash from my pocket, that my parents gave me for emergencies, and tossed it on his dashboard. "Keep the change," I said, trying to impress Ari.

"That's generous," she said as I opened up her door for her and she stepped out.

"Yeah, well, you know," I said with a feigned modesty. "That's just me. Come on, let's go."

We walked through the doors without any trouble, but as we entered the lobby, two business men who had probably just come from meeting Tony and blocked our way and glared down at us. "What do you want here?"

Ari gently laid her hands on each of them, then said strongly, "Step out of our way and don't ask any questions." They nodded in a daze and stepped away, clearing a path for us.

"Day-um," I said, impressed.

She sent me a disapproving look and chastened, "Don't swear." I raised my hands in a defensive gesture and she dropped it.

We walked up to the front desk, and the a voice that I recognized as JARVIS said, "Welcome to Stark Towers, do you have an appointment?"

"We want to see Tony Stark," I said, placing my crossed arms on the desk. Ari looked around to try to find the source of the voice, flabbergasted. "And pronto. Like, chop chop, robot dude."

"And who, may I ask, wants to see him?"

"It's Leo Barton. It's an emergency, we need to see Tony Stark _now_."

"I will notify Mr. Stark that you and the young lady wish to see him."

"Um," I said when Ari shook her head at me fiercely. "Just tell him I'm coming, okay? I want her to be a surprise."

"Yes, Mr. Barton. Mr. Stark will see you now."

"Thanks," I laughed, directing Ari to follow me. Her eyes were as wide as the moon, and we entered the elevator. Her hand brushed against the elevator, and she suddenly let off a high-pitched scream and collapsed.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a panic.

"The information," she murmured, rubbing her head tenderly. "There's so much information. . . ."

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked, concerned. She was rapidly paling, and sweat was beading on her forehead.

She looked like she was about to answer, but then she lost consciousness. Much to my horror, purple veins started appearing all over her body. They looked like they were sucking the pigment from her skin, as her skin was whiter than ever. "Ari? Ari!"

She didn't wake up. The elevator doors slipped open and I gently picked her up in a bridal hold, bolting through the office and yelling, "Stark!"

He was tinkering with something and didn't even look up. "Hey, kid, I don't want any Girl Scout cookies." It was meant as an insult considering he didn't even know I had a girl with me, but I brushed it off because, well, it was Tony Stark and he insulted everyone.

"Stark, I need your help!"

"Look, kid," he turned and his eyes widened when he saw me with a purple-ish Ari. "Please don't tell me you kidnapped that poor girl and injected her with some drugs you didn't know how to use."

"Creative, but no. Meet Thor's daughter, Ari-something-something," I said, lifting her up a bit more.

"You kidnapped Thor's _daughte_ r? And Thor has a daughter?!" he asked suspiciously, crossing his arms and appraising me. "And why the hell is she purple?"

"For God's sake, I didn't kidnap her! She has some pretty badass powers that makes her suck up information and when she gets too much . . . well, apparently this happens."

"What do you expect me to do?!"

"You're the genius, think of something!" I said, beginning to panic. "C'mon, Stark! Think, think, think, think, think!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" he countered, massaging his temple with his two pointer fingers. "I got it! JARVIS, call Bruce Banner immediately!"

"Calling Bruce Banner, sir." A large screen appeared in front of us with Bruce Banner's face. He looked concerned.

"Tony, what's wrong?"

"Leo here kidnapped Thor's daughter and drugged her with something and now she's purple!"

"Wait, no!" I shouted, shaking my head vigorously as Bruce stared at me incredulously. "That's not what happened, I swear!"

"When did Thor have a daughter?" Banner asked, looking extremely confused. "And why do you have Thor's daughter?"

"Oh, who cares?" I yelled, lifting her up in front of the screen. "She's purple!"

"Okay, I am about five minutes away, so put her on a table to stabilize her and connect her to a heart monitor, and don't you two idiots do anything after that until I get there."

"Hey, I'm a genius!"

"Not the point here, Stark," I ground out, lifting Ari onto a metal table and clearing off all of the technology that was sitting on it. Stark glared at me, but I ignored the look and barked, "We need the monitor!"

Stark ran over to a back room and connected her to the monitor. As we lay her on the table, I noticed that she had a rather large variety of weapons hidden under her cloak and Stark and I removed them. Stark was surprisingly casual about it. "You're so grounded, little dude. Wait till Natasha and Clint hear you kidnapped Thor's daughter."

"UGH! I didn't kidnap her."

All of a sudden he grabbed a needle and took her blood. He smiled as he locked it into a cooling agent.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Science, once Banner gets here all my fun is ruined."

JARVIS's voice filled the room, "Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner is here to see you."

"Good, send him up."

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Barton and Madam Romanoff are here as well as Mr. Rogers." Tony snickered, he had clearly programmed JARVIS to say "Madam Romanoff."

" _Shit_!" I growled, throwing my arms up in the air in frustration. "My parents are going to kill me."

"Great," Tony told JARVIS, completely ignoring me. "The whole gang is here- less having to repeat myself. JARVIS, send them all up." He then turned back to me. "Kid, quit your whining, this will be fun."

"My mom hates when I get into S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff," I moaned, hiding my face in my hands.

"Yeah and I didn't say it would be fun for you, but it will be hilarious for me." I went to hit Tony but he dodged my punch easily. He was surprisingly swift.

"Remember the unconscious demigod we have, maybe you could help her rather than spend your time messing with me," I spat at him, starting to become moody once I realized all of the trouble I was about to be in.

The metal doors suddenly slid open and in walked four out of the six Avengers. Tony opened up his arms in welcome. "I'm glad you came, because Leo over here kidnapped his first girl! A demigod, even! On his first try! This is something we should celebrate," he said sarcastically, winking at me in a very Tony Stark kind of way.

Banner ignored Stark's tirade and proceeded to rush to Ari's side. The veins of purple had stopped growing, but she was still very pale and her lips were a deep shade of blue. She still looked beautiful to me, though.

He set up an I.V. and checked her vitals, trying to figure out how to help this innocent girl.

I could feel my parents' eyes burning a hole in the back of my head and for fear of my life I chose not to turn around. They _were_ assassins after all.

Steve Rogers, or Cap, had joined us around the table. In an effort to be even more obnoxious than usual, Stark piped up, "She's purple because after Leo here kidnapped her, he stowed her away and drugged her. I think he was planning to sell her to the Mexican cartel. You know, kids these days. Oh, and she's Thor's daughter."

"Leonid Marshal Barton, explain yourself, young man! God forbid I lose my child to the wrath of a god, so your explanation better be damn good," Mom demanded of me, and I knew then I had to turn around. Both of them had their arms crossed and were glaring at me. _I am so screwed_ , I thought in a panic.

"I can explain-"

"I can too. You were looking to explore your teenage hormones and when no one wanted to help you, you kidnapped this poor innocent little girl to satisfy your needs. And-" He was thoroughly enjoying himself but I cut him off.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I yelled over him so my parents couldn't hear any more of his lies.

Thank goodness Captain walked by and smacked Stark over the back of the head. "Stark, would you just shut up for one second before this boy gets murdered by his parents?"

"Thank you, I think," I muttered, sparing a venomous glare for Stark. "I didn't kidnap her. You see, I was out on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D and-"

" _What_?" both of my parents shouted, spitting mad.

"Director Fury sent me out," I squeaked, cowering under their angry looks.

"I'm going to have a little chat with him," Mom growled under her breath, then spat out a couple Russian curse words that I couldn't make out.

"Go on," Dad prompted as evenly as he could.

"So, Fury sent me out into the city to go look for this person that used the Bifröst earlier that he knew wasn't Thor. So, this girl comes up to me and starts chatting, and you know, she's captivated by my very presence and dashing good looks, and she tells me she has this superpower where she can control minds and whenever she touches something all of its history floods her mind. She asked me for help so I brought her to asshole Stark over there-"

Mom ordered, "Watch your mouth" the same time Stark yelled indignantly, "Hey!"

I signed, but continued my story. "Anyway, she used her power on a couple boring-looking business men that had went to see Tony and then, when we were in the elevator, she collapsed when she touched the elevator. Probably because of all the history of the wires or something," I said, shrugging. "There's a lot of technology in there. And no, I wasn't planning to sell her to the Mexican cartel."

"You're grounded," my parents said in unison, and I gaped at them.

"But I just told you what really happened!"

"Well," Dad started, "First off, you went out on a mission without our permission."

"That's Fury's fault!" I argued, and even I could hear the whine in my tone.

"You aren't without fault," Mom snapped at me. "And second, once you did find the girl, I'm sure you were supposed to take her back to S.H.I.E.L.D., but you didn't. Instead, you did her bidding and she could have been dangerous. Why have you been so reckless?"

Without thinking for a single second, I blurted out, "She's mad hot! What was I supposed to do, say no?"

Stark pointed at me and said, "See, that boy wins at life. Cap, take notes." I didn't even have to see Cap to know he was glaring murderously at Tony. _What's new_? I thought, inwardly smirking.

As I was arguing with my parents, I didn't notice Bruce quietly working over Ari so it scared the absolute hell out of me when she gasped awake. Like, I jumped about three feet in the air.

She slowly sat up with Bruce guiding her, and looked around warily. Her breathing seemed to quicken when she saw everybody and she scooted backwards out of fear. Quickly, she replaced all of the weapons that had been taken from her earlier.

"It's okay, Ari," I soothed, walking up to her. "These are the Avengers, the people your dad was thinking about. You found them!"

"Which one is the man known as Tony Stark?" she asked meekly, and Tony proudly raised his hand.

"Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, _former_ playboy, and philanthropist at your service." I rolled my eyes; I couldn't count the number of times he described himself like that. Once he became seriously involved with Pepper he was forced to add the "former."

Ari attempted to slide off the table but instead fell, causing Cap to have to catch her and she immediately brought her hands to her chest to keep from touching him. She seemed to be in less pain and her exotic features were returning back to normal. She really was beautiful.

"Hey, Mini-Ass, stop drooling, would you?" Stark snarked. "The girl has enough problems."

"Mini-Ass?"

"Yeah, like Mini-Assassin just shortened and it's correct in either way you prefer it."

"Stark," my mom scolded, scowling at him then directing her attention back to Ari. "So, who are you exactly?"

"Um . . . I don't mean to be rude but if I may sit down to explain what is going on it would be much appreciated. I am kinda dizzy and all this muscle is making me even more hazy," she explained, her voice small and her face turning a gorgeous shade of pink. Cap smiled softly and lifted her with barely any effort at all back onto the table. I was jealous.

"Aww, Cap, so you haven't lost your touch after a hundred years. I guess it just works to a smaller audience now. . . ." I had to admit, Stark could be pretty funny when he wasn't mocking _me_.

Ari started swaying with exhaustion, and me being the gentleman I was, rushed to her side and snaked an arm around her waist, making sure her hands didn't touch me. She smiled up at me.

"So, explain yourself," Cap prompted sternly of Ari, ignoring Stark. "Does Thor even know you're here?" But before she could get a single word out, there was a huge _boom_ of thunder and, shocked, I realized that the blue, clear sky that was there mere minutes before was now completely covered in dark storm clouds. Lightning crackled through the sky, and Ari replied meekly,

"No, he doesn't know I'm here. But I'm quite certain he'll figure it out." The thunder grew louder and, startling the crap out of me, a hammer came flying through the window. Coincidentally or perhaps not, the hammer came rushing straight toward Tony, who only ducked at the last second.

"For God's sake," Tony muttered, getting back on his feet and glaring at the broken window. "Why is it always me?"

A few seconds later, the Thunder God himself came crashing through, looking livid. His narrowed eyes appraised the room, and fell on Ari and I. I then realized I still had my arm around her waist and backed up slowly. "It's not what it looks like, please don't hurt me."

He took threatening steps toward me, and intimidated the living hell out of me. The hammer flew back into his hand, and he gripped it menacingly. "Um, Thor, I mean,

King, uh, or Thunder God sir . . . MOM!" I yelled as Thor swung the hammer out at me, and I scuttled away to hide behind her. Okay, so maybe it didn't look real tough around Ari, but Thor was a _god_. A scary-ass god. "Mom, he's gonna kill me!" I whimpered behind her.

"Thor, I'd appreciate if you didn't kill my son," she deadpanned.

"Well, I would appreciate it if your spawn didn't inappropriately touch _my daughter_!" he boomed, glaring at me so hard that I shrunk a little. Mom stayed firmly in front of me though, so he couldn't get to me.

"You need a dictionary, my good man," I said, regaining a little confidence once I realized Mom would protect me. "That wasn't inappropriate in anyway."

"You dare defend yourself?" he roared, more thunder booming outside.

"No," I caved. "I plead guilty. Bring the shackles."

He glowered at me one last time then took in the room. "Where is she?" he growled, squeezing his hammer like it was some sort of stress toy.

Everyone looked around and noticed Ari was nowhere to be found. All the commotion had been rather distracting. Oops.

Stark replied casually after coming to the conclusion that she was missing, "Um, are you talking about a little girl about five-foot-four, red hair, with this super badass power, who also happens to be your daughter you never bothered to tell us about?" Everyone looked at him like he was crazy, especially me. Thor was about ready to beat his head in. Sadly, before Thor could teach him a lesson Captain Buzzkill had to step in.

He said as reasonably and calmly as ever, "Okay, everyone, let's cool down. Stark, I greatly recommend for once you let the cat hold your tongue otherwise that may be the only thing left."

For once taking Cap's advice, Stark changed the subject and asked, "JARVIS, have any of the doors been opened?"

"She used the ones to exit your office, sir, but no others. She is likely still on the floor. Would you like me to check, sir?"

Before Stark could respond, Thor started yelling at Stark for some reason (blaming him for this, even though while most everything is somehow Tony's fault, this wasn't), and Stark argued back, and when Cap tried to calm them down, they turned on him. Soon enough, all of the Avengers but gentle Bruce Banner were yelling at each other. I took this opportunity to sneak out the door, and once I was out of earshot, I bolted down the hall.

"Ari?" I cried, looking around. "Where did you go?"

She jumped out from behind a plant, grinning and twirling around in victory. "Did they notice I left? I've never _seen_ Daddy so mad!"

"Well, they noticed you left but they don't know where you are, and they now don't know where I am. Let's ditch this floor before they figure it out."

"Good plan," she chirped, following me to the elevator.


	8. Chapter 4 - Part 2: Aryaliana

**A/N: Hi, this the second part of chapter 4 and it's being posted right after the first part. Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **Chapter 4 - Part 2: Aryaliana**

After seeing who I now knew as Leo, I was taken aback by his physique. He was rather good-looking and muscular. His eyes were a deep, playful blue. He was a real gentleman, trying to not touch my hands for fear of activating my power. What he didn't know was that if I concentrated hard enough when I came into contact with someone, I saw only the thoughts I wanted to see.

Without even having to read his mind I could tell he was taken with me, but my guess was he was taken with a lot of girls. He had the aura of what humans would call a "playboy."

I could tell I could trust him from the start and that trust brought me great results, as he led me to Stark Towers. The place had been amazing and I was looking forward to meeting the man who had the power to save me, but I did something very dumb. When I made accidental contact with the thing Leo called an "elevator," it had so much history and information and foreign technology that it overwhelmed me and caused me to collapse. Next thing I knew, I woke up to Leo being ridiculed by the people I recognized as the Avengers.

A man, who I recognized from Daddy's memories as Bruce Banner, had been hovering over me and I saw the relief in his dark, friendly eyes as my eyes fluttered open. I was connected to a bunch of machines that I had never seen before and I ripped the wires off me before anyone could stop me.

After this, I smiled at Mr. Banner and thanked him quietly as I silently observed the group. Leo noticed me first and then I noticed Captain America standing beside me. When I slid off the table, I was a bit lightheaded but the man caught me easily. His arms were very muscular . . . I wasn't about to lie and say it wasn't nice to be held by a man that wasn't my father. . . .

His sweet smile caused my face to burn hot and Leo to glare at him in a helpless attempt to threaten Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers placed me back onto the table and Leo moved in close to one-arm hug me while I stammered out a half-hearted explanation.

They were kind yet suspicious but I didn't get much of a chance to explain myself because my big-headed father threw his hammer through the window, almost killing Mr. Stark, and jumped in right after.

To avoid his white-hot anger, I snuck away during the chaos and hid before anyone noticed my disappearance. Luckily for me, my father himself had trained me and since I lacked in strength he made up for it by teaching me defense and one solid defensive strategy was to hide. This was going to be a funny story to share later. He surely would understand . . . maybe. . . .

Now I needed to proceed to an exit but since I was unconscious upon my arrival to the elevator and above, and this place was so huge, I had no idea where to go. Bewildered and lost, I wandered through the halls for a bit until I heard a voice. I hid behind a potted plant but then I realized it was Leo who shouted, "Ari? Where did you go?"

I jumped away from my cover and did a little victory dance. "Did they notice I left? I've never _seen_ Daddy so mad!" There was a little thrill I felt with the whole situation. I was a _rebel_.

"Well, they noticed you left but they don't know where you are, and they now don't know where I am. Let's ditch this floor before they figure it out."

"Good plan," I agreed heartily, following him into the small rectangular contraption, this time making absolute sure not to touch anything.

"Wait," he groaned, slapping his forehead sharply with the palm of his hand. We exited the elevator just in time for the odd metal doors to close shut. "The thing is, they'll get super mad if I don't tell them where I'm going. I have an idea."

He quietly slipped back into Tony's office, and the arguing was louder than ever. A few moments later, he came back out with a device in his hand.

"What did you do?" I asked curiously.

"I left a note with a scrap of paper I found in his office. I said I was leaving with you to "calm you down", though I didn't exactly specify where. . . . They didn't even notice me. Dad left his cell phone on a table near the door, and I picked it up because it was vibrating like no tomorrow. Someone's trying to get a hold of him."

"What's a cell phone and why did you take it?"

"A device for communication and because I want to see who's trying to contact him. It's gotta be urgent." Ignoring my protests that it wasn't his business, he answered the phone when it vibrated yet again.

He lowered his voice, trying to sound like Hawkeye, and greeted, "What's wrong?" I leaned near him to hear the response on the other end; it wasn't hard because the person was yelling. _It's Director Fury_ , Leo mouthed, though I didn't really know who that was.

"Where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for ten minutes now!" the voice shouted.

"I'm here now. What's the problem?"

"There's a threat that we've been tracking for the last couple days. A small girl, about twelve-years-old, who appears to have powers. She and a large group of children were seen rushing out of an abandoned warehouse, but she split off from them and now she's only with one of them. We've had videos and eyewitnesses attest to the fact that she can control fire. Just now, there's been a random earthquake, starting in Central Park, where it looks like the girl is hiding out. We need you to join us and check it out, now. She's blond and was last seen wearing military cargo pants. We're readying the agents, so meet us at the headquarters." The man hung up without saying goodbye.

I looked up at Leo with excitement. "A girl that can control fire and earth? She's gotta be extremely powerful! And I bet if she can control fire and earth, then she will be able to control wind and water. This is amazing!"

He looked just as thrilled as I was. "Come on, let's go!" Laughing madly, we raced into the elevator and he slammed on the button that led us to the lobby.

"This is an adventure!" I squealed, hopping up and down. As soon as the elevator doors opened, we made a mad rush through the lobby and out through the doors.

"TAXI!" Leo shouted, waving one down. We jumped inside, though I was careful to not touch anything. The driver looked at us warily, as we clearly had weapons, so Leo assured, "We aren't going to hurt you or anybody. We just need to get to Central Park, fast. The faster you do it, the more of a tip you get. Here, you get twenty as a starting price and I'll add more to it."

He didn't need any more encouragement. The driver slammed on the gas and we jolted into traffic. I impatiently tapped my knees as he weaved in and out through cars; I was anxious to meet the girl. It would be nice to meet someone else that had to deal with such forceful powers.

"Wait, what are military cargo pants?" I questioned, remembering Director Fury mention that.

"They're these baggy, workout pants that are patterned with different shades of green," he explained and I nodded. I knew I would be able to spot the pants now.

As soon as we pulled up at the nearest sidewalk to the park, Leo threw a couple more bills onto the dashboard and opened the door for me to step out. Together, we darted into the park and ran down a lush, grassy hill. It occurred to me then that we didn't exactly know where she was, but as I was scanning the premises, my eye caught on a flash of yellow.

It had to be her. There sat a small blond girl on a bench near the lake, hunched over as if she were in pain. She was wearing those military cargo pants with patches of different shades of green.

"It's her, it's got to be," I yelped a little more loudly than I meant to.

"Are you sure?" Leo asked urgently, following my line of sight.

"Yes! She's blond, is wearing military cargo pants, and she's in Central Park! Director Fury did say she was very powerful, and a small blond girl of her size was seen with fire in her hands. This is far too similar to be a coincidence. It simply has to be her." Leo took a moment to appraise her, then nodded in agreement.

"You know," the girl called over her shoulder, startling us. "I can hear you."


	9. Chapter 5 - Part 1: Charlotte

**A/N: Helloooooooooooo! Here's our Saturday update! This chapter is quite long and split into three different perspectives, so we thought it best to split it into three different parts. But it's also where all three of our main OCs meet, so, yay! Now, since we have the philosophy of when we update of posting entire chapters at a time, all three parts will be posted today. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **Disclaimer: You know the drill. Nothing Marvel is ours. Sad face.**

 **P.S. By the way, since we do live in California, we really have no idea how Central Park is structured so if the geography is incorrect, we apologize.**

 **P.P.S. Yet again, thanks so much for the follows and favorites! We see every one of you and we're so grateful. Also, another thanks to Julescapoles for leaving another kind and helpful review! We love you all :).**

 **Chapter 5 - Part 1: Charlotte**

He pressed the water-soaked shirt against my burning forehead and I deliriously licked at the water that rolled down to my mouth. We were alone now, Jack and I. We had made sure that everyone else had either found a way to find their families again, or at the very least found them a phone to call them. New York, as this place was called, was very foreign to me so Jack had to lead the way. He lived upstate. I only knew what certain objects were through my education, not experience.

"How's that?" he gently asked of me, brushing hair out of my face. He was my brother's best friend, and my friend, so I assumed I was like a little sister to him in a way. "Do you feel any better?"

"I'm not worth it," I groaned for the thousandth time. He had refused to leave me, ignoring my protests for him to return to his family. Finally, after much badgering, I had gotten him to call them. It was emotional, to say the least. They hadn't seen him in ten years- he was taken when he was five- and there were tears shed on both ends. They had thought he died. I was lying slumped against the payphone at the time, and, though it stung to admit it, I was jealous. All those kids, even Jack, got to return to their families. I had left my only family I had back in the institution- not that she was any sort of a mother. I was alone.

"C'mon, Double-edge. Of course you are. And, like I told you before, I want you to come with me and stay with my family and I. Lucky," his voice grew choked, "was like my older brother and he would want me to take care of you."

I didn't respond. Honestly, I wasn't planning to go with him and interrupt the reunion that he deserved with his family.

"Look, I know you said you don't want to go to a hospital-"

"I don't!" I cut in strongly. "She'll find me, I know she will."

He continued as if I hadn't said anything. "You're not in good shape, Charlotte. You're burning up, and the shirt that I stole to wrap around and stabilize your ribs isn't going to be enough. Your back is in bad shape, even with the jacket I stole for you to cover it and keep warm. Also, I think the gash on your stomach from where your mom scratched you as a tiger (still confused about that one) is infected. That's probably why you have such a high fever."

"I'm fine," I said sharply. I struggled to sit up to accent my point but the pain overwhelmed me and I slumped into the grass. We were in Central Park, hidden away by the shade of several trees. A few times when we were out in public and the pain started catching up to me, fire started uncontrollably rushing from my hands and I unfortunately garnered some attention, so Jack and I were lying low.

"No you're not!" he argued. "I tried to clean out the scratch with water but it's gotta be infected. The red surrounding it is spreading and it's oozing. And it's hot to touch. This really isn't good."

"It's only been, like, three days since she scratched me, it's not infected," I snapped, rolling over on my back to face him. A microsecond later I flipped back onto my side and shuddered through the sharp pain that went through my back. My back was raw, and I had to wear a jacket because the back of my tank top was in tatters. I lifted my shirt and tape covering the wound for a moment and cringed at how red and inflamed the scratch was. "Okay, so maybe it is. Whatever, it's no big deal."

"You need medical treatment."

"She'll catch me. It's not worth it. And I can't control the fire. What if I'm in a hospital and catch the place on fire? I could kill innocent people."

I could tell he saw my point, and he relented. "You at least need some rest."

"Fair enough." I shut my eyes and welcomed the approaching darkness. Almost immediately, I slipped into a nightmare. Almost every night since my brother's death, the same awful nightmares had been reoccurring.

 _Lucky was being dragged away by my mother . . . he had been defending me and it should have been me. . . . I was shouting my lungs out in protest, begging to take his place. I remembered everything to the finest detail, the feel of my brother's lips on my forehead, the sound of him whispering to me that everything would be okay, the stoic tears in his eyes where I knew it wouldn't be okay. . . ._

 _Flash-forward, I had managed to break into the control room of the drones but it was too late. My mother fought me off from the lever, so I rushed to the glass, pounding on it and screaming as I saw the blood drip down his still-fighting form. But then, in one sudden move, the drone pushed its sword forward right through his chest._

 _"LUCKY!" He crumpled to the ground, and I knew he was dead. My very soul seemed to seep out of my body, and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was my mother's icy blue eyes, in which I was drowning, drowning, drowning. . . ._

"Double-edge, wake up!" Jack's panicked voice jolted me awake, and I was in a cold sweat from the dream. "CHARLOTTE!" The earth was shaking and leaves were being showered from the trees. The shaking was vigorous and I heard faint screams in the distance.

I realized something that scared the hell out of me; _I_ was the source of the shaking. The ripples of the earthquake were coming from a single point: me. My hands and feet were sinking into the earth, and suddenly, the earth split into a long crack right beneath me. "Whoa!" I shouted, scrambling backwards. The trees moaned with the strain and I took deep, ragged breaths to try to calm myself.

Then, no sooner then it started, the quaking stopped and everything was serene once again. I stroked a finger along the edge of the crack of earth; it was about ten feet long and a foot wide. "Jack," I said, my voice trembling beyond my control. "That was me. I did that."

"I know," he gasped, slowly rising to his feet. "You started flailing around, and the earth started shaking. You started sinking into the earth, so that's why I knew it was you."

"So . . ." I gulped, trying to retain some rational thought. "I can shoot fire out of my hands, and make the earth move?"

"Those are two elements," he murmured more to himself than me. "If you can control those, then is it possible you can control the others?"

"What are the others?" I questioned, a little confused. "Wind and water?"

"Yeah, those."

"I don't know, Jack," I breathed, running a hand through my hair. "I just don't know. I'm going to go to the lake. I need to calm down. Don't follow," I warned as he made moves to follow. "I want to be alone."

Without giving him any chance to protest, I made my way out of the shallow forest and headed to the glistening lake. Every step hurt, but I didn't show it.

I finally made it to the lake and looked around again. From what I saw, people looked rattled from the earthquake but there were no injuries. _Good_ , I thought in relief.

I took a seat on a bench near the lake and closed my eyes, welcoming the gentle breeze that tickled against my skin. I loved it, it was new and foreign, but I couldn't get enough of the wind and sunshine. Yet, an ominous chill dripped down my spine like melting ice. It was like I was being watched.

"It's her, it's got to be." It was very faint, but I heard it. My eyes snapped open and I tilted my head slightly against the wind to hear better. It was a high, lilting voice that just radiated innocence.

"Are you sure?" The second voice was deeper; a boy.

"Yes! She's blond, is wearing military cargo pants, and she's in Central Park! Director Fury did say she was very powerful, and a small blond girl of her size was seen with fire in her hands. It simply has to be her."

"You know," I called over my shoulder without turning around, "I can hear you."

I painfully got to my feet and twisted around. Before me stood a graceful-looking redheaded girl with a long, shimmering dress and next to her was a taller, dark-haired, bow and arrow adorned boy. They looked at me with wide eyes.

"What do you want?" I asked evenly, jutting my chin out in a challenge.

"It's not just us," the boy said hesitantly. I noticed he was staring at me rather oddly, and for a little too long. "People know about you, you know. A couple days ago you and a huge group of kids came mysteriously rushing out of some warehouse, then you were caught with fire unexplainably coming from your hands, and now this? You're famous."

"Well, how about you tell these people that are watching my every move to back the hell off?"

"It doesn't exactly work that way," he replied, shrugging.

"Leave me alone," I said firmly, hand itching to the hilt of my sword.

"We can't do that," the girl said softly but shamelessly.

Turning on my heel, I stalked away from the lake and into the cover of the trees. If they wanted a fight, then they were getting a fight. Predictably, they followed me and once we were out of view from any spectators and I turned around and pulled my sword out of its holster. I pointed it threateningly at them. "Leave me alone _now_."

"We don't want a fight," the boy placated, but I saw his hands reach behind to assure himself that his bow was there.

"If you don't want a fight, then just leave," I said, swishing the sword a little for effect. The girl pulled something out of her cloak; a sword of her own. She clearly accepted my challenge and stepped forward to meet me.

"Bring it." With a wicked grin in place, I lunged forward and took the first swipe.


	10. Chapter 5 - Part 2: Leo

**A/N: Hi there! Here's the second part of chapter 5, and this is in Leo's perspective. Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **Chapter 5 - Part 2: Leo**

My heart skipped a beat as she turned around and stared us down. I had a similar reaction to when I had first seen Ari. The girl was a total _knockout_ , and she literally looked like she could knock me out. I liked that.

She had a real elfish look to her, with her big eyes, arched eyebrows, high cheekbones sculpting her heart-shaped face, and narrow, pointed nose. I really liked that.

Part of me tried to compare her looks to Ari, but it was like comparing apples to oranges. Both girls were beautiful in their own ways. Ari had a pure, shining, god-like beauty while the other girl had an alluring and captivating, tough, almost challenging beauty. I appreciated both greatly.

She gave off a very clever yet hardheaded vibe, one that made me think she quite liked having the upperhand in any and all situations. She was small, standing at only about five-foot-two, an inch or two shorter than Ari. Her frame was slim, but lean and clearly athletic. I would easily accept it if she was a dancer or some sort of martial artist, maybe both.

She had long, straight blond hair that went down to her waist, and ghostly pale skin that looked like it never felt the sun. She looked like Casper the Friendly Ghost. Her legs were covered with military cargo pants, and she was wearing a baggy hoodie.

The thing that drew my attention in the most were her big, blazing dark brown eyes. They were dancing with a whole plethora of emotions that I tried to read, but the thing that struck me most was their familiarity. I could have sworn I had seen those eyes before. . . .

"What do you want?" she questioned. I liked her voice. It wasn't high and sing-songy like Ari's, but low and husky, yet feminine.

"It's not just us," I tried to convince her. "People know about you, you know. A couple days ago you and a huge group of kids came mysteriously rushing out of some warehouse, then you were caught with fire unexplainably coming from your hands, and now this? You're famous."

"Well, how about you tell these people that are watching my every move to back the hell off?" Her dark brown eyes flashed dangerously, and I found that totally hot.

"It doesn't exactly work that way," I stammered, starting to feel a little bad for disturbing her.

"Leave me alone," she ordered, and her hand inched closer to something hidden beneath her jacket; a sword or knife, perhaps.

"We can't do that," Ari piped up.

Glaring one last time, she spun around and stalked off to the trees. Sharing a look, Ari and I hurried after her but stopped in her tracks when she, in a flash, pulled out her sword and directed it toward us. "Leave me alone _now_."

"We don't want a fight," I assured her, but I double-checked to see if my quiver was filled with arrows.

"If you don't want a fight, then just leave," she challenged, and Ari accepted that challenge. I was surprised to see her pull out a sword of her own and step forward. I had thought she was a total pacifist. Well, the weapons I found on her earlier probably should have been a clue. . . .

"Bring it." The girl's eyes gleamed with excitement and I could tell she lived for this kinda stuff. Her lips were curled up in a smirk, and she leapt forward to expertly swipe down her sword. Ari, in the last second, lifted her weapon below her sword and blocked the attack. The fight was on. I secretly pretended that they were fighting over me for extra entertainment.

"Prepare to lose, mortal," Ari taunted.

"Not in your wildest dreams, Twinkletoes."

"That's rude," she replied, weaving away from a spinning kick the girl sent her way.

Neither girl gave it their all: their goals clearly weren't to seriously hurt the other, but to teach a lesson. Both girls had unique fighting techniques. Ari's was like Thor's: godlike, majestic, and powerful, while the blond girl's was something different entirely.

She was obviously extremely accomplished in the art of fighting, but something else was incorporated in her technique. I recognized a bit of ballet, hip hop, and especially capoeira in her moves as she she twisted around in an acrobatic manner; it was deceptive. It was cool and strange-looking at the same time, but very effective.

After a minute or two in the fight, the blond girl started showing signs of exhaustion. She cringed and winced with every moment, and it struck me that she was injured. Like, very injured. "Ari, stop, she's hurt!"

Ari was about to stop but the blond girl made moves to sweep out her legs, so she continued to defend herself. A dark-haired boy of about fifteen came rushing up, sword at the ready. _Great_ , I thought, pulling my metal bow off my back.

"I've got this covered!" the girl snapped at him, not even sparing him a glance.

He then saw me, and clearly eyed me as a threat because he came jumping toward me. He had a similar fighting style as the girl, but I could already tell she was superior and he had at least three years on her.

I twisted my bow around like a sword to fend off his attacks, wishing desperately to crawl up a tree and fire an arrow at the kid. "For God's sake, this is stupid!" I shouted for everybody to hear.

"Leo, dear, shut up!" Ari said, too calm for the situation and, wait, did she just say _shut up_? I thought she was like super innocent and proper, then BOOM! Fighting creepily well and BAM, rude words. Maybe the twenty minutes she spent with Stark rubbed off on her (with the language, not the fighting).

I continued to fight off the boy. He was bigger than I and seemed to have more raw strength but he was still slower. I kicked him off of me like the little bug that he was and, as quick as a bolt of lightning, pulled an arrow from my quiver and fired it at him. It hit its desired target, the tuft of fabric sticking up from his shirt, and sent him flying backwards and pinned him against a tree. "Hey!"

"Sorry, dude, you attacked first," I reminded him. He struggled against the hold of the arrow but he seemed too exhausted to really get out.

Directing my attention to the girls, I saw their swords clash over and over again and both girls moved in a steady rhythm. It seemed Ari nicked the girl once on the shoulder but she got a nice slash on Ari near her torso.

The blond beauty seemed overall in a worse condition than Ari, though. She had new blood seeping through her clothes that looked like it came from an opened gash or the like, she was deathly pale, and was sweating in a feverish way. Ari didn't seem to be tired at all nor did she seem to want to give this girl mercy.

"Hey, you look hurt. We can help you, just stop," I begged.

"She is hurt," the dark-haired boy shouted from against the tree. "Badly. She needs medical attention. She's getting worse and worse."

The two girls ignored us and I had to yell at Ari, "Ari, stop! This isn't fair; she's badly injured!" for her to finally stop. Ari backed off, though reluctantly, and the blond sank to her knees.

"Charlotte!" the boy cried as she swayed in exhaustion.

The girl, now known as Charlotte, snapped back, "I'm fine, Jack. Calm down already. You're like a mother hen. I've had enough of mothers for this lifetime," she added cryptically and I looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" She looked at me with an unfathomable expression, and before she could respond a loud sound of a helicopter interrupted us. It was close, as if it was landing in Central Park. _Crap, crap, crap_ , I thought.

I shared a panicked look with Ari. "Uh oh," I choked out.

Charlotte, with much difficulty, rose to her feet and glared at us. "What's going on?"

"Um, this isn't our fault," I defended quickly. Look, she was mega-hot and I didn't want to get even more on her bad side. "We didn't plan this, I swear."

"Plan _what_?" Jack demanded from the tree, and Charlotte snapped the arrow off of his shirt. He adjusted his clothing and glowered at me before repeating, "Plan what?"

"Well, you see-"

" _Hands up where I can see them. Come out of the trees slowly and don't make any threatening advances. If we think you are a threat, we will not hesitate to shoot_ ," a voice I recognized as Phil Coulson called out. Charlotte scoffed at the threat, but Ari was more worried.

"Is that Agent Coulson?" Ari demanded, looking scared.

"You know him?"

"We met once, and it didn't go extremely well. . . ."

"How badly?" I asked suspiciously.

"I made about fifty agents go unconscious. I feel like he might hold a grudge."

"ARI! What were you thinking?" Honestly, I was kinda impressed but I didn't show it.

"Who is Agent Coulson and what is going on?" Charlotte cut in angrily.

" _This is your last warning! Come out with your hands up or we will have to take action_!" the agent ordered through the loudspeaker.

"I think you guys should do what they say." Everyone glared at me and Ari looked about ready to stab me.

"Leonid, I swear on the name of the gods I will kill you," Ari said, her voice calm and quiet. I would normally take that as a joke but I didn't think they joked in Asgard. Thor sure didn't.

" _Leonid_?" Charlotte snickered under her breath. Before I could defend my Russian name, a swarm of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents came trampling into the forest, guns at the ready. Twenty to thirty of them surrounded us, and I waved meekly.

"Gentlemen, this is a huge misunderstanding and I feel we can resolve this issue amicably-"

Cutting me off, Agent Coulson ordered, "Put your hands up . . . you too, Leo."

"Shove it," Charlotte growled, blowing off the order.

"I have to put my hands up? Me?" I was simply incredulous. " _Me_?" Before I could even think about raising my hands, Coulson moved behind me and cuffed my hands.

"Leo, you hid the girl from S.H.I.E.L.D., stole your father's phone, pretended to be your father to get information from Director Fury, and unwittingly went after the threat we detected. You are officially under arrest."

"My mom's gonna kill you," I said defiantly.

"No," Coulson countered, amused. "Your mom's gonna kill _you_."

I glared at him but my attention was drawn to the three people I was next to. Luckily, none of them chose to attempt to fight the situation but even Ari was struggling against the handcuffs. The handcuffs were designed to drain powers, so the girls would no longer be any danger to the agents.

Ari went mute and refused to look at me. She looked exhausted from the new contact, I presumed. Or she was mad at me. Probably both, unfortunately.

We were all led to the helicopter on standby and we took off to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters where my life would likely end.


	11. Chapter 5 - Part 3: Charlotte again

**A/N: And here's part 3 of the fifth chapter, as promised. Please read, review, and enjoy! Thank you!**

 **P.S. **Spoilers****

 **We do realize this doesn't exactly fit with the timeline when Coulson "died" in Avengers then was brought back for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but we wanted him in this story so we tweaked that a bit. . . . Anyway, without much further ado, here's part 3!**

 **Disclaimer: Marvel Universe=not ours.**

 **Chapter 5 - Part 3: Charlotte again**

I seethed in my seat, panic coursing through my veins. I was being taken to another institution. _I'd rather die_ , I thought bitterly. _I'm not doing this again._

I was starting to grow deeply uncomfortable in the small space, and I felt suffocated. Taking deep breaths, I shut my eyes.

The cuffs were murder against my blistered hands; apparently the fire had more of an effect on them than I had thought. I was surprised no fire was coming out now until Leo told me once we were seated that the handcuffs drained powers. _Just great_ , I thought.

"You okay?" Jack whispered. Opening my eyes, I just shrugged, too angry to verbally respond.

The boy called Leo and the girl called Ari were sitting across from me, also cuffed.

A man, that Leo said was Phil Coulson, walked up through aisle and stood in front of all of us. "Look, I don't want to do this-"

"Then don't," I shot back.

"We don't even want you, boy," the man told Jack. "So, I'm sorry about that. Now, _you_ ," he said, turning toward me. I sneered at him. "We've had an eye on you for a couple days now."

"Then you need to find a hobby," I retorted, and he scowled at me. "What do you want with me?"

"You've been on our radar ever since a hundred or so children came rushing rather mysteriously out from an abandoned warehouse. Then, we've had eyewitnesses see fire spark from your hands. And, only a few minutes ago, there was a bizarrely placed earthquake, and it started in Central Park. What do you say to this?"

"What do you expect me to say?"

"Well, you'll be expected to talk once you get back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Director Fury."

"Agent Coulson," Leo whined. "That's not necessary." I ignored him, even though he was trying to stand up for me.

"Fury?" I smirked, arching an eyebrow. "Seriously? Not Rage, or Anger, or Irritation. . . ?"

"You'd be wise to not mock him in person," Coulson said warningly. I shrugged it off casually.

"I'll mock him if I want to. There isn't anything you can do about it, Mr. Agent man."

Agent Coulson ignored my outburst and directed his attention to the girl Ari. "So who might you be, young lady? You knocked out about fifty agents with your powers, including me." She ignored him yet stared him down, challenging him.

However much I didn't like the girl, she seemed to know what she was doing in our fight. Her moves were as experienced as mine and I was impressed. Also, fifty agents? I was curious to know what her power was.

"If you don't want to talk, fine," he said, sounding impatient. "You will once we get back to the headquarters. All of you will."

Though Ari and I were against each other not ten minutes ago, we both teamed up in glaring at Leo. I didn't know how, but this _had_ to be his fault. He seemed to know these people.

"I'm sorry," he said weakly, directing it toward Ari. "I didn't know this was going to happen."

"They're associated with you," she spat. "How do I not know you weren't _working_ with them?"

His eyes grew wide and he spluttered out, "No, no, you've got it all wrong! C'mon, Ari, you can trust me!"

"Can I?" she replied harshly, clearly feeling betrayed.

"Come on, Ari, think about this! I had nothing do with this. They arrested me, too!" he pleaded with her.

"It could be a cover," I pointed out helpfully. "I mean, I'm sure when we get there they will lock us away and five seconds later let you go. But they could be "arresting" you as a manipulation ploy. Maybe they want Ari here to trust you so you can draw information from her, like an undercover informant, and to trust you she has to think you're also a victim. Maybe this was all a set-up."

Leo eyed me weirdly. "Aren't you cynical?"

"Aren't you evasive?" I countered. Ari looked hurt and demanded to know,

"Oh my gods. Is this true, Leo?" I smirked at him. She believed me, not him. If I were her, I would have stuck to my guns and believed whatever the hell I wanted, but whatever.

"No, no I swear! You have to believe me!"

"I don't _have_ to do anything," she snapped back, refusing to make eye contact with him. _Huh_ , I thought. _Maybe the broad has more of a backbone than I thought._

"We've arrived," came from the front, and I let loose a shaky yet relieved sigh. I wanted out of the small space, and pronto, but I didn't know what to expect outside.

"Get up!" an armed agent boy yelled over at us. He didn't need to tell me twice. Annoyingly, though, a whole group of those armed soldier boys surrounded us, pointing their guns at us like we were terrorists.

"C'mon, Agent Coulson," Leo pleaded, awkwardly moving around the guns. "This is ridiculous."

"Those two girls are serious threats, Leo," Coulson responded calmly.

"And proud," I added, grinning for effect. Leo flashed me a warning look but I shrugged it off. Ari seemed to shrink with his words.

"Well, let's get going then," Coulson said, clapping his hands once. "Director Fury is impatiently awaiting us."

"Fury," I mocked again, snickering openly. "I wonder if that gave him a complex."

"Wait until you see the eye patch," Leo muttered under his breath as we were paraded out of the helicopter.

"He has an eye patch, too? Director _Fury_ , with an _eye patch_. This just keeps getting better and better." We were pushed out into, from what I was educated about, what looked like some sort of military base. Coulson led the way and we unwillingly followed, the soldier boys never lowering their guns.

"Please get it out of your system before you meet him," Coulson warned me.

"I'll do as I please, Phil. Can I call you Phil?"

"No, you cannot."

"Whatever you say, Phil." He turned around to glare at me and I smirked as obnoxiously as physically possible.

"You remind me of someone," Leo chuckled, stealing me an amused glance.

"Who?" I asked, only somewhat curious.

"You wouldn't know him. His name's Tony Stark. Ring any bells?"

I shook my head and before he could reply, Phil led us up to a huge building. "We're here."

We didn't get much chance to admire it, or in my case probably insult it just to irritate him, as we were pushed through the doors. Phil led us through a multitude of corridors, until we finally reached our destination.

An enormous headquarters greeted us. A man with an eyepatch, who I presumed was Fury, was standing a little ways away, and once Phil called out, "We got them," he turned around slowly.

His single eye was blazing, and he barked out, "You're all here. We've got a lot to talk about." He was menacing to say the least, and he most certainly lived up to his name.


	12. Chapter 6: Aryaliana

**A/N: Hi everybody! *Hi Doctor Nick!* . . . The Simpsons' is awesome. Anyway, here's our Saturday update and please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own Marvel 'cause if we did we'd be invited to all the bitchin' Tony Stark parties, but we haven't received any invitations. We're still waiting for our Hogwarts letters, too. Maybe our mailboxes are broken. . . .**

 **Chapter 6: Aryaliana**

We were rudely paraded through the corridors of the enormous building into the main headquarters and, looking around, the thing that really caught my eye was my absolutely enraged father. I shrunk into my dress under his gaze, my cheeks burning with shame.

An angry-looking dark-skinned man with an eye patch glared at the four of us children after Agent Coulson caught his attention. He had to be Director Fury. He growled, "You're all here. We've got a lot to talk about."

The agents with guns still surrounded us, making me feel incredibly awkward. I watched as Director Fury took long strides forward, grabbed Leo, and dragged him over to a desk where he handcuffed him to a chair. For that moment, it was Leo who had the pleasure of garnering his attention.

"So, when I thought I was talking to Agent Barton, I soon realized that when he didn't come to the headquarters, that something was wrong. I called Agent Romanoff, then, and it was discovered that Agent Barton didn't have his cell phone." Leo cringed away from the man. "Not only that, but you have been hiding the girl that came across the Bifröst, and stupidly went after the threat we detected in Central Park, based on information you shouldn't have been hearing because you stole your father's cell phone. Now, I could arrest you, but perhaps it would be better to just turn you over to your _parents_." If it was possible, Leo sank even further in his seat and I almost felt pity for him. Almost.

I discreetly glanced back at my father, and with a start, I realized that all of the Avengers were standing silently behind a rail. _Uh oh_ , I thought.

I felt Charlotte fidget next to me, and I looked over at her next. She didn't look too great. She was sweating in a very feverish way and looked positively exhausted, but she stood proudly despite her obvious injuries. I was extremely surprised when I fought her before. She was a mortal, yet she was just at accomplished at fighting as me.

Director Fury next turned his attention on me, but before he could say anything, Daddy shouted out, "Fury, that is _my_ daughter. You arrested _my_ daughter."

Director Fury yelled back without turning around, "She knocked out fifty agents, Thor. Am I supposed to ignore that?"

"I won't ignore it," Daddy said strongly. "Just hand her over to me, or you shall face my wrath."

Director Fury glowered at me. "It's your lucky day, child."

I smiled smugly as I stalked past him. I was curious to know how much the handcuffs drained my powers, as I _was_ from another realm, so as I was walking past I brushed my hand against Fury.

I had to stifle a gasp. His information didn't go coursing through me, but his thoughts faintly did. I was at the forefront of his thoughts, laying across a metal table with needles and tubes sticking out of me. He wanted to _test_ on me. . . . My mouth was suddenly very dry.

Daddy beckoned me over, looking positively menacing. At least he wasn't Director Fury, but he looked even angrier. I was in shock; Fury wanted to _test_ on me. I had to find a way to tell Daddy, but my hands were cuffed with the power-draining cuffs and I didn't know if I had enough power left in me to send him a message. Daddy would protect me, though, I just knew it.

I shuffled on over to him with my head lowered, and I was sure I looked like the epitome of a "scolded child." Leo flashed me a sympathetic glance on the way but I just frowned at him. This was his fault.

I felt bad for Charlotte, though, even though we were fighting only a short while ago. Leo got handed over to his parents and I to my father, and though they were furious, we had someone to belong to. It struck me how alone she and the other boy looked, surrounded by the agents.

I ducked under the rail to my father, expecting him to start screaming at me then and there, but he stayed silent. That was how I knew he was beyond furious. Much to my surprise, though, he pulled me into his chest in a suffocating hug.

"Never do that to me again," he whispered in my ear, and that was when I knew he was also relieved to have me back. I squeezed him back tightly, until Mr. Stark ruined the moment by quipping,

"This is _so_ heart-warming. Glad I don't have kids," he added as an afterthought.

Daddy glared at him in a very god-like way and shot back, "Children are a blessing, Stark. All of the us have children but you, and we're happy." The other Avengers nodded vehemently, but Mr. Barton and Mrs. Romanoff still looked rather displeased at Leo. Leo yelled out,

"I'm sorry. . . ! Please don't kill me!" Before the conversation could go any longer, Director Fury grabbed my attention.

"Well, well, well," Director Fury drawled to Charlotte. "Do you have an Avenger for a scapegoat, too?"

She sneered at him, and if there was a possible way to make that man angrier, I was sure she would find it. "I don't need a scapegoat."

"Really, now? You've been terrorizing the streets."

She honestly scoffed, throwing her head back in contempt. "Really, terrorizing? You need to broaden your vocabulary. I was doing no such thing."

"Are you saying the fire seen coming from your hands was a lie or accidental?" he challenged.

She narrowed her eyes; he had her in a trap. She clearly didn't like being trapped. "I don't know what you want me to say," she evaded cleverly.

"The truth. All of it. From the warehouse you escaped from to the fire to the earthquake."

"Well, you see, that's all a very, very long story that I'm not in the mood to tell." She grinned without humor.

Mr. Rogers piped up, "Fury, are all of the guns really necessary? They're children."

I saw a strange gleam in her eyes; Mr. Rogers must have just substantially added to a plan she must have been forming. "Yes, Patchy, listen to the hot guy and his words of wisdom."

Leo gaped at her after as called him "Patchy." I was shocked at her audacity and insolence myself, but I had to agree, Captain America was very good-looking. I snuck a glance to see him rather red in the face.

"Have you seen the videos of the girl, Cap?" Director Fury demanded, outraged. "She's a threat."

Before Mr. Rogers could reply, Charlotte taunted, "Scared, Patchy?"

I didn't have to see his face to feel the burning of his glare. Tony Stark snickered quietly next to me.

"Come on, Fury," Mr. Banner now pleaded. "You put on those power-draining handcuffs, didn't you? They're kids, you don't need to scare them with guns."

Director Fury stared at Mr. Banner for a long moment then ordered sharply, "Put your guns away!"

The agents moved quickly in stacking their guns on an empty table before moving back to surround the kids. The kids were having some sort of unspoken conversation, both smirking. "Now!" Charlotte yelled.

They sprung into action, taking on the ten or so agents around them. I felt the Avengers stiffen with shock around me. Their moves were astounding! They were flipping, cartwheeling, spinning . . . and it worked. They were _winning._

"Best capoeira I've ever seen!" Leo yelped, straining to observe as well as he could with his hand cuffed to the chair. "Damn!"

The Avengers' expressions ranged from stunned to impressed to awed. The agents were being _overwhelmed_. It then occurred to me that this was my way out, this was they way I could avoid being tested. Before anyone could stop me, I spun around on my heel, placed the chain of my handcuffs around the handle of Daddy's hammer, and _pulled_. I couldn't carry the hammer as I wasn't considered worthy of it, so it didn't budge, but the chain snapped. "Yes!" I cried, leaping over the ledge and darting over to all the commotion. Daddy went to grab me but I swerved to avoid his hand.

"Aryaliana! Get back here!" he roared.

" _Aryaliana_?" Tony murmured, also jumping over the ledge along with Mr. Rogers, Mrs. Romonoff, and Mr. Barton. "Poor kid."

Running over to Charlotte and Jack, I shouted at them, "Put your hands over your ears." With some difficulty, though their cuffed hands were now in front of them instead of behind, they followed the instructions.

I sent out a fierce mental wave and shouted along with it, "EVERYBODY FREEZE!" Everybody in the room, excluding Charlotte and Jack, ceased movement. Charlotte and Jack slowly removed their hands from their ears and Charlotte whispered in awe,

"Wicked!" My knees buckled out from under me and Charlotte caught me before I could hit the floor. "What's wrong?" she demanded urgently.

"It takes a lot out of me," I gasped, feeling the energy sweep out of me. At least the purple veins didn't appear yet.

"Can you go on?" she asked as gently as she could probably muster.

Jack raced over to us, "Here, Double-edge, you're hurt, let me carry her."

Charlotte didn't object, which seemed to be new for her, and handed me over to Jack. My vision was a bit blurry but my thoughts were clear enough. "We need to move, the Avengers will unfreeze soon enough, probably before the rest. They all have strong wills."

"Where do we go?" Jack asked, rising.

"We can figure it out on the way. Let's just move!" Charlotte said impatiently. With that said, we bolted out of the huge headquarters and out through the door. We were met with a network hallways that none of us knew how to navigate.

I was starting to feel better quickly as we maneuvered the room. The things that Leo called "elevators" were locked by some kind of access code and so were the stairs.

"What the hell?" Charlotte growled, utterly frustrated. We were moving quickly across the hallways, very, very lost.

"That is not acceptable language. In my realm that is the ultimate show of disrespect," I chided her.

Charlotte looked extremely confused. "What the hell is a realm?"

"Never mind you. I can be let down now by the way. Humans are weak-minded so my exhaustion didn't last long."

"Hey! I am human and Double-edge is at least somewhat human," Jack said, sounding offended though he set me down carefully.

"Not all humans, but S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are the weakest beings I have ever encountered. And she's only somewhat human? What else is she?"

"Guys, we need to move, remember?" Charlotte cut in sharply, and all conversation was stifled.

We all ran about the halls, looking for any sort of exit but everything was locked with codes and such. Charlotte was swearing like a madwoman under her breath, presumably out of panic, but I was sure part of why she did it was to annoy me.

The final pathway on the floor was very broad. We were all tired. The building was very large and only led to locked doors and dead ends. Our escape attempt was a resounding failure.

"We're not going to be trapped in a place like this again," Charlotte said firmly, and Jack nodded his wholehearted agreement. I looked at them curiously.

"What do you mean by-" Suddenly, an arrow flew out of nowhere and pierced Jack's side. He crumpled to the ground and Charlotte dove to his side.

"Jack? Jack!" she cried, shaking him vigorously. "Jack, get up!"

"It's only a tranquilizer arrow," a male voice rang calmly down the hall. Charlotte and I snapped our heads up to see Mr. Barton and Mrs. Romanoff standing in the middle of the hall, clearly in their Avenger personas now: Hawkeye and Black Widow. "Please just surrender. We really don't wish to hurt you, because you're children, but we will if we absolutely have to."

"Sir, with all due respect-"

Charlotte cut me off. "Fuck off!"

I slapped my forehead with my palm and shook my head. She just ruined all chances of solving this diplomatically.

Hawkeye raised his bow and aimed it at Charlotte, "Last chance, girls."

"Well, seeing as though we have the upper hand I must offer you the chance to surrender as well," I remarked, sounding cocky. My father had always taught me that confidence can win a battle.

"In what world could you two little girls beat us? We are world-renowned assassins," Black Widow replied, looking rather bewildered.

"Well, you'll just have to find out," Charlotte retorted, giving me a look. She seemed to be a naturally arrogant person, unlike me who had to fake it. She then, in a quick motion, pulled the arrow out of her friend and threw it at Hawkeye with great accuracy, still handcuffed. It missed him by a narrow centimeter but it caused the entire group to rise into action.

Charlotte was the first one to move, bolting in a path straight toward Hawkeye. He began to fire arrow after arrow at her, but she dodged them. Once close enough, she cartwheeled forward and slammed him in the chest with her boot-covered feet. He only needed a second to recover before he retaliated, kicking her in return and sending her sprawling back. He used his metal bow as a weapon now, which she bobbed and weaved around. When he swung it down in an arc, she lifted her cuffed hands and let the bow slice through the metal chains.

She spat at him, "Thanks," and fire started spewing rather uncontrollably from her hands. He most certainly had his hands full now.

I charged at Black Widow, avoiding the fire, and slid under her, hitting her low in the knees. She quickly spun around and got me in the ribs. They were both quickly realizing that we weren't amateurs contrary to their initial thoughts.

My dress was rather annoying as it restricted my kicks but I made do. At first I played offensive and she mainly guarded, only kicking every few times. I quickly realized this was my mistake as she turned the table and hit me hard in the side.

Falling to the ground, I narrowly missed being grabbed as I rolled, striking her in the lower back. This caught her off guard enough for me to rise and rethink my plan.

I was way better with weapons than without since most training revolved around them and it was definitely proving to be my mistake. We sparred, narrowly avoiding Charlotte's fire. I was definitely weak with my lack of sleep and previous engagements today and this was leading to my loss.

She hit me twice in the face, once in the knee, and struck me multiple times in the torso. Blood was running down my face in a steady stream from a cut above my eyebrow, every inch of my body was sore, and my knuckles were bruised and bloody.

Although I was in worse shape, my opponent had her share of injuries. I knew I might have bruised a rib or two of hers and when I nailed her in the face it gained her a bloody nose.

Charlotte was starting to be overwhelmed by Hawkeye, even with the fire blazing from her hands, but she still held her own. As she couldn't control the fire very well, he was using this to his advantage.

I could see a building mass of blood from previous injuries staining her jacket, and Hawkeye seemed to notice as well. "You're injured," he said abruptly. As she launched herself at him, though, he still had to keep the fight going.

Charlotte had blood leaking from her mouth and a cut on her temple from Hawkeye's bow. Her knuckles were bloody and her hands looked blistered. He seemed to be holding back, though. He had an angry-looking burn on his bare shoulder and his left eye was rapidly swelling and closing.

Before I could attack Black Widow once more, cold metal arms wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me back. Similarly, Captain America grabbed and pulled Charlotte away, and the shock of it seemed to extinguish her fire.

"Let me go!" Charlotte yelled, squirming beneath his hold. Her struggles proved futile.

I attempted to reach into Mr. Stark's mind and tell him to let me go but I came up with nothing. All I felt beneath my fingers was the chill of the metal. A thought hit me, _Not even the suit gives me information. . . ._ "The suit is the answer!" I shouted.


	13. Chapter 7 - Part 1: Charlotte

**A/N: Hello, people of the world! We tend to write very long chapters (there's probably those of you out there nodding your heads and saying "No duh!" XD) so we decided to split this into two parts. Both parts will be uploaded today because we always try and keep the chapter together. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **Chapter 7 - Part 1: Charlotte**

I was attempting to bite the man holding me when Ari cried out, "The suit is the answer!" _Random, much_? I thought. Tears started streaming down her face, mixing with the blood coming from the cut above her eyebrow.

"Whoa, what's your deal?" I asked of her as best I could with the man's arm wound firmly around my neck, though not tight enough to choke me. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was confused because the tired couple we were fighting and the metal dude whose face mask just lifted up looked at her like she was insane. And, quite honestly, I was rapidly being convinced that she _was_ insane.

"That's the solution!" she shrieked, looking ridiculously happy for what she was talking about.

Hawkeye kneeled in front of her and looked into her eyes. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"Well, your lover just beat the crap out of her. . . ," I injected into the conversation. I spat out the bitter taste of blood from my mouth.

"Wife!" Black Widow corrected.

"I love how that's the only thing you got out of that," I said dryly, and she shot me a look.

"I'm more than okay," Ari continued as if I hadn't said anything, "and sorry for that, Mrs. Romanoff, I only fought because . . . It's a long story," she stuttered through her tears.

"However confused I am I forgive you, and sorry for the bruises," she said as kindly as she probably could. She directed her attention to me now and I smirked to annoy her as best _I_ could.

"Now, _you_ ," she barked, taking long strides over and pulling me out of the man's grip, "are under arrest." She pulled out a new pair of handcuffs, pushed me none too gently into the wall and wrenched them onto my wrists. I surprisingly didn't feel much pain yet; the adrenaline was still strong inside of me.

"Because those worked so well last time, smart one!" I taunted her with my head basically smashed into the wall.

"Charlotte, please, we have lost. Losers are only losers when they don't lose with respect," Ari explained in her weird elegant fashion. That girl was confusing and frankly irritating.

"You really love to preach, don't you?" I shot back, and as I turned around to glare at her, I realized that the man who had previously grabbed me was the totally gorgeous guy I saw from before.

"Hey, babe," I said to him, grinning in a flirtatious way. He blushed a deep pink.

"Well, Cap, you seem to draw an interesting crowd. I never knew an old man and father like you would blush over horny teenage girls," the metal dude piped up.

"Hey, I am what I am," I responded, rather indifferent to his insult although Ari was blushing a new shade of red on the rainbow. He could do better; I wasn't very impressed. I was the damn queen of insults.

"Um . . . Mr. Stark, please, with all due respect I recommend you let me down because my father should be waking up very soon and you holding me in this fashion would not go over well with him," Ari explained. He dropped her like she was burning hot.

"I meant to ask you about that, why is everyone else still frozen?" Stark asked curiously. "And Thor?"

"Well you see, most humans are very weak-minded, but those who aren't will break out of the trance faster. Hawkeye and Black Widow are both very strong-willed so they woke up faster than everyone."

"You said humans, so why is your father still frozen?" Black Widow asked, entering their conversation.

"Well you see, I added a bit of a kick to his to keep him out for a while but he-" Before Ari could finish, the entire wall caved in and an angry-looking sexy man bursted in. _Why is everyone here so good-looking?_ I thought. _Not that I'm complaining._

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" His gaze fell on Ari and his eyes widened. "WHO HURT MY DAUGHTER?" he roared, swinging out his hammer threateningly.

"Melodramatic, much?" I challenged, and Stark looked over at me.

"It runs in their genes," he agreed, and I nodded sagely. He continued, "Same with their fashion choices."

"Yeah, I noticed that. It actually kind of bothers me-"

Interrupting our little side conversation, Thor bellowed, "Who hurt my daughter? Speak up!"

"Black Widow did," I said helpfully, and she shot daggers at me. I beamed at her innocently.

"You dare hurt my daughter?" He approached her threateningly, and Hawkeye stepped in between them in an act of protection.

"Thor, it's not what it looks like."

"It actually really, really is," I cut in, and Hawkeye was the one to glare at me next.

"Daddy, NO! This my doing, and you cannot hurt everyone and everything that hurts me. I am grown up," everybody in the room including me rolled their eyes at that, "and I have a right to make my own choices. This choice paid off. I found the answer, Daddy. I found out how to fix myself so I can be the princess Asgard deserves. And the reason I'm hurt is because Charlotte and I attacked them first." Ari was crying by the end of her tirade. _I still don't get what she's talking about_ , I thought. _What's Asgard_?

He came toward her and picked her up. She didn't touch him with her hands, though, and I realized that was probably the main source of her power. Tears streamed down the girl's face. She seemed like a rather damaged girl. I could most certainly relate.

He moved her to one arm so she could face the group. Ari looked a lot smaller in the hands of her father. Ari was lucky, so lucky to have someone like him. Jealousy burned inside of me, and I couldn't look at them anymore. "I'm sorry for my actions. She is my world and I let that get in the way of common sense. I'm sorry Natasha, I didn't mean to disrespect you," Thor apologized. "But I don't appreciate the fact that you hurt my daughter, even if she attacked you."

"It's okay, and I'm sorry for hurting her as I did. I was holding back as well as I could. Bruce can take a look at her."

"Yes," he agreed stiffly. "I'll get him to."

"I know how you feel about your daughter, too; however much Leo gets on my nerves and however much trouble he is in at the moment, he is still my baby," the Black Widow said, shaking her head fondly. If I was jealous before, it was nothing to how I was compared now. She seemed to love her son on levels I simply could not understand. An odd, foreign feeling burned at the back of my eyes, but I hastily blinked it away.

"Are you okay, kid?" the hot man, Cap, asked kindly of me. I hadn't noticed he was next to me until that moment.

"Just fine," I ground out, keeping my eyes glued on the metal, shiny ground before me. All of them could have their lovey-dovey moment that I wasn't part of, but I didn't have to look at it.

The adrenaline seemed to drain out of me right then, replaced by sheer envy. The pain set back in and I squirmed where I stood. My cracked ribs throbbed, the infected cut burned, my back screamed in agony . . . Blood roared in my ears, and I was surprised the others couldn't hear the sound of my pounding heart. My fever just had to be rising, because it suddenly grew so _cold_. . . .

"No, seriously, you don't look good," Cap said with more urgency this time. Before I could protest, he placed his palm on my forehead in a caring manner and winced a little. "You're burning up. A lot." I dodged his hand and muttered,

"I'm fine."

It was then that Hawkeye glanced over at us, and he got the others' attention. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I snapped. "Go on gushing all over each other." I flinched when Cap now lay the _back_ of his hand on my forehead.

"Your forehead is really hot," he said worriedly and I was about to slap his hand away when I realized I was handcuffed. _Dammit_! I thought, annoyed.

"I'm fine," I bit back, a little saltier this time. "I'm fine. Do you know what that means? It's spelled with an "F" and an "I" and-"

Before I could continue mocking him, Hawkeye moseyed on over and put _his_ hand on my forehead. Okay, this was getting really weird. Like ten minutes before, I was kicking his ass (in my perspective, at least) and now he was acting all concerned and such. Talk about split personalities.

 _Maybe I'm hallucinating this entire thing_ , I thought idly, and that was when I realized they might have been right about the fever. Hawkeye now looked just as concerned as the great-looking guy.

"Your forehead _is_ really hot," he agreed.

"So what?"

Now Stark lumbered over, and I was starting to get seriously irritated. Everything hurt, and they were somehow making it worse. If I hadn't been handcuffed, they would have been begging for mercy and vowing to never touch me again.

"I'm not some goat at a petting zoo," I pointed out sarcastically. Jack had told me about petting zoos, how he used to go to them all the time before he was kidnapped. Wait, _Jack_!

I gave Stark about a microsecond to feel my forehead before picking my way through them to Jack. He seemed to be waking up, but he looked awfully dazed.

"She's got a high fever," Stark said rather importantly behind me. I rolled my eyes to the ceiling then kneeled next to Jack.

"Jack, wake up," I whispered in his ear. "You missed all the action."

He let loose a muffled groan and slowly sat up. His eyes clearing up, he started in surprise when he saw all of the adults around us. "What did I miss?"

"A lot," I grumbled playfully, nudging him with my boot. "Sucks for you, though. You got knocked out in three seconds by a tranquilizer dart and I had to fight an assassin. Typical, typical."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I do tend to last longer in fights. . . ."

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do." I covered the words with an ostentatious cough, but he still glared at me something fierce. I heard soft murmurs behind me, but I did make out the words,

"We should take her to Bruce."

"I'm not deaf, you know," I called over my shoulder without turning away from Jack.

"What's wrong?" he asked, brow creasing with worry.

"Well-" Cutting off my answer, strong hands grabbed underneath my armpits and hauled me up. As a reflex, I elbowed backwards as hard as I could, which was difficult because of the handcuffs, and a sharp intake of breath followed. I quickly spun around, fully prepared to fight, and was greeted with a now-winded Cap. I was about to apologize then thought better of it. He started it.

"You pack a hard elbow," he grunted, straightening himself back up.

"So I've been told," I said, and Jack nodded his passionate agreement below me. I smirked at him.

"We're going to take you to a man called Bruce Banner," Hawkeye said matter-of-factly. "He's a doctor. He will help you. And Aryaliana," he added to Thor.

"I don't _wanna_ see a doctor," I complained, crossing my arms. Hawkeye let loose a sharp breath that sounded dangerously close to a sigh.

"Neither do _I_ , because . . ." Ari's voice faded away as her father glared at her.

Jack struggled to his feet and strongly said, "You need to see a doctor. I'm telling you, the cut's infected."

"Not now, Jack," I spat, but a second later Stark butted in,

"Infected? You didn't mention that. Is that why you have a fever?"

"I don't _know_ , I'm not a doctor."

"Well, that's why you need to see one," Hawkeye ordered, placing a gentle but firm hand on my shoulder. I flinched as his touch awakened the pain of the beating I recieved from my mother. He removed his hand, tilting his head with confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"What _happened_ to you?" he asked quietly. I stared at him for a long, long moment before breaking eye contact. There was this look in his eyes, a look that I had never seen before. Before, when we were fighting, he was an assassin and an agent. Now, he was a caring man, a loving parent. I just didn't know how to take that; I _couldn't_.

That odd feeling came back, the burn at the back of my eyes. I quickly blinked it away, and not giving him an answer, started to stalk off. I could feel their stares bore into my back. It wasn't anything personal really, I just couldn't answer the question. It wasn't a simple question at all, what had happened to me. What happened to me? My life happened to me.

For some strange reason, when he touched my incredibly sore and raw shoulder, and what he asked of me . . . it brought everything back like a tidal wave. The last few days, I hadn't really been thinking of it. I tried to ignore the fact that my mother hated me, beat me to a pulp, tried to kill me . . . It wasn't anything new, honestly, except the last one.

My entire life, I tried to never think about it. Everything that ever happened to me, I pushed it to the back of my mind so it couldn't hurt me anymore, so I didn't have to deal with it. I tried to ignore it as my mind replayed the horror over and over again. Even when Lucky was killed, I didn't cry. I didn't know how to cry. No, instead I let the fury and darkness and hatred fill me up inside so I wouldn't have to feel the grief. His death tore me apart inside, broke me beyond repair. _How could I possibly deal with that_? I always thought. So I didn't. But every time I closed my eyes, every time I fell asleep at night, I relived it over and over and over. . . .

And I didn't know why, but that single question brought it all rushing back. Not only the agony and rage, but the trauma and the bitter grief and the loneliness. . . .

My vision blurred and distorted everything around me. Right now, I was starting to slip away from being that brave, bold, tough girl I always had to be. The girl who mouthed off to authority because she was so filled with anger and hate. The girl who always had to have the upperhand. No, I was starting to become the lonely, broken little girl I was hiding deep inside, so hidden that even I couldn't find her anymore.

I tried to shake off my alter ego. I couldn't be that hurt little girl, because then I would be vulnerable. If I were vulnerable, then I could be hurt again. It was survival, really. I had to be strong or I would have lost my mind and soul long, long ago. . . .

Either the hurricane of emotions had drained me or my injuries finally overwhelmed me, because I fell to my knees, panting. There was this odd ringing in my ears, and everything was so _cold_. I crumpled to the ground and let the darkness surround me. Briefly, though, for a split second, I thought I could hear my brother calling out to me. . . .


	14. Chapter 7 - Part 2: Leo

**A/N: Hi everyone, this is part 2 of our seventh chapter! This is in Leo's perspective. There's a big reveal and cliffy at the end, so if you hate cliffies, we're sorry! Well, sort of, they're also kinda fun ;).**

 **Warning: This does include a somewhat graphic description of an injury.**

 **P.S. We'd like to say that we really, really appreciate all of the favorites and follows! We see every one of you and thank you all so much, and thanks to those who have been reading this story!**

 **Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **Chapter 7 - Part 2: Leo**

I stood silently next to my parents, peering into the window of the medical room where Charlotte lay unconscious on a bed, Bruce quietly checking her vitals. She looked so small.

Bruce, smiling apologetically, shut the blinds of the room to give Charlotte some privacy. I pressed my forehead against the glass. I should have said something; I knew, I _knew_ she was hurt. But I didn't say anything.

Ari joined me, standing to the side and she didn't look angry at me anymore, just ashamed. She knew Charlotte had been injured too. I smiled at her comfortingly and the corners of her mouth lifted up weakly.

Now Jack, Jack I was worried about. He sat on a bench near Charlotte's room, his face buried in his hands. He kept murmuring things that didn't make sense to me, like, "Not her too" or "Not both siblings." I wanted to ask him what he meant but he looked too distraught.

The other Avengers were there too, looking awfully solemn. Even notoriously light-hearted Stark (who was now out of his suit) was serious. "It's my fault," Dad murmured, breaking the silence. "I fought with her. She's a kid. I was holding back, but I shouldn't have been so hard on her. I-"

Surprisingly, Charlotte's ultimate defender, Jack, was the one to speak up. "No, man. She's been hurt like that for several days now, long before she even met you. It's not your fault."

"Who hurt her so bad?" I asked, my voice cracking. Jack looked up with a deep sadness in his eyes. All of the Avengers were now also staring at him for some answers.

"That's a long story," he breathed. "Now's not the time."

Startling me, the door of Charlotte's room opened and Bruce leaned out. He looked frighteningly somber, and that scared us all a bit. He said gently to Jack, "You're her friend, right?"

"Yes," he replied without missing a beat.

"Can you please come in here? I need to talk to you about her." Jack nodded slowly and followed him in, shutting the door behind him.

"What's that about?" I asked curiously but more worriedly. I looked to my parents for answers and they appeared grimmer than ever.

"Bruce must want some answers," Mom said dully, not looking at me. "It's got to be serious." My stomach churned with that; how bad off could she be? I desperately wished to know what was being said in there.

Director Fury then came strolling down the hall. He and I unfroze from Ari's power burst at about the same time, before the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. He wasn't too happy and this time I couldn't blame him.

"What's going on?" he demanded, eyeing all of us.

"The girl collapsed," Cap filled him in. "She's hurt and Bruce is checking up on her right now."

"Hmm," was all he said before he took long strides to the door. He knocked on it once, but one time was all that was needed. Bruce opened the door a sliver and peered out.

"What do you need, Fury? I'm busy right now, taking care of her." He sounded annoyed, and rightfully so. Stark moved to position himself between the two subtly; he was protective of his occasionally green friend.

"Get a DNA test," Fury barked. Bruce blinked with surprise.

"Why do you want a DNA test?" Stark asked before Bruce could.

"I want to run her through the databases, to figure out who she is and where she came from. She sure as hell isn't going to tell us."

I stepped up to Fury, angry at him for even suggesting that. "You can't do that. She didn't give her consent for him to do that."

He brushed me off like an insect, barely even acknowledging me. "Get the damn test done, Banner." Stark sighed but seemed to resign to that, as well as Banner, but I sure didn't.

As soon as he left, I pleaded to Bruce, "You can't do that, man. You just can't."

Mom butted in, "It might be a good thing, Leo. We need to know as much as we can about her."

"But Mom, it's not fair!" I whined. "I can't believe you agree with Fury! C'mon, Mom, you're better than that!"

Dad shot me a look and walked up to me before Mom could respond. "Young man, we agreed to make a truce at the moment because the girl collapsed but you are still on very, very thin ice so you better watch yourself! Apologize, now."

I shrank back like a turtle in its shell. "Sorry, sir." I looked at Mom sheepishly. "Sorry, Mom."

She nodded once and though she was still clearly mad at me for my previous crimes, she seemed to let my disrespect go.

I was itching to get into that hospital room. Actually, at times, I was kind of Bruce's "little helper" as everybody so liked to call me. It felt strange for me to not be in there. So, before anyone could stop me, I pulled open the door and slipped inside with Mom hissing, "Leo!" after me.

Jack was sitting in the hospital bed next to Charlotte, holding her hand. She was in a hospital gown now and I knew she would hate that when she woke up. Bruce saw me in an instant and accused, "You shouldn't be in here."

"Please, Bruce, let me help," I pleaded. I just wanted to be helpful.

He caved after a long moment and went outside for a couple seconds to briefly explain to my parents that he could use my help. Once he came back in, he murmured, "Well, I'm about to take her blood to run the DNA test."

When he started cleaning a long needle, my eyes widened as far as they would go. "Um, Bruce, don't you only need to swab the inside of her cheek or prick her finger or something?"

He then explained, "I'm going to also test her blood for other reasons. So, unfortunately, I need the needle." Jack seemed to squeeze her hand even tighter and I winced on her behalf. "Here, wrap the tourniquet around her upper arm as I prep the needle."

I quickly wrapped it as tightly as possible around her left arm as Bruce attached the needle to a tube. I stepped back as Bruce jabbed the needle into her arm, averting my eyes so I wouldn't have to see the blood.

Once he drew enough blood, he carefully took it into the next room for testing, leaving Jack and I alone with Charlotte. I stiffly paced around the room and nearly tripped over a chair that held a transparent bag of Charlotte's clothes.

One particular item looked very bizarre, so I pulled it out of the bag and looked it over. It was a black tank top. I turned it over and my heart froze at what I saw. The back was in _tatters_. Bloody tatters. Like she had been beaten over and over and over. . . .

Bile rose to my throat and I stuffed the shirt back into the bag, gasping for breath. "I know how you feel," Jack whispered, his teary eyes never leaving Charlotte. "It's horrible."

I slowly walked over to Charlotte's side and said quietly, "What does her back look like?"

He just shook his head, the tears threatening to spill over from his eyes. I repeated more firmly, "What does her back look like?"

"You don't want to see it," he choked out, squeezing his eyes shut at the mere thought of it.

I was a lot of things, but passive and obedient? Hell no. Gingerly, I grabbed onto Charlotte's shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position. She was still unconscious and he head bobbed with the movement.

"Leo, stop," Jack ordered, trying to pry my hands off of her. "I'm telling you, you don't want to see it."

I ignored him profusely and did something that I would deeply, deeply regret in only a moment. I gently pulled the hospital gown fabric away and took a peek at her back. If my heart froze before, then it just exploded into a fiery ball of shock.

Horror. Utterly horrified is the only word that truly described how I felt. But disturbed, distressed, and sickened came as close seconds. Her back . . . her back was a bloody _mess_. It was red and raw and I couldn't even tell where the skin was because of the blood. She had been beaten to a _pulp_. There were these bloody indentations where it looked like a whip of some sort struck her _over and over and over_. . . .

I placed her carefully back onto the hospital bed and stifled a sob. Jack softly said, "That's why Mr. Banner called me in. He wanted to know who had beaten her. He was about to bandage it up, but Director Fury interrupted him for the DNA test so he had to do that first."

There was only one thing that stood to me out of that. "Who beat her?" I croaked, my voice hoarse and unable to rise above a raspy whisper. "Who could do this?"

"Her mother," he said venomously, hate blazing in his eyes. That was what pushed me over the edge.

Tears blurred my vision and nausea rocked my stomach. "I got to get out of here," I muttered. "I'm going to be sick."

"Leo, wait-"

I didn't wait for him to finish because I was already out the door and into the hall. My parents were about to start in on me for going into the room in the first place, but as soon as they took one look at me they shut up. Everybody stared at me in a stunned silence and I desperately tried to blink the hot tears away. For once, even Stark didn't make fun of me.

"Leo, what's wrong?" Mom asked, her tone that of a very concerned mother. "Baby, what happened?"

If I answered, I knew I would throw up right there. Everybody's shocked stares were overwhelming me. I shook my head fiercely and bolted down the hall, only getting to the corner before I vomited all over the metal ground.

I fell to my hands and knees and shuddered, trying to rid my mind of those awful images. Footsteps came pounding after me and I didn't protest as Dad sat down with me, threw an arm around my shoulders and drew me into him. Mom clutched my hand with one hand and wiped a tear that managed to escape from my eye with her other.

"What happened?" Dad asked as kindly as he could. I just couldn't answer, and I buried my face in my hands.

"Leo?" came a lilting, high-pitched voice. I looked up to see Ari kneeling in front of me. "What's wrong?"

She started reaching for me and I suddenly knew exactly what she was planning to do. "Ari, no, you don't want to see it!"

I tried to scoot away but she grabbed my hand. "No!" I cried. I didn't want her to see that; she was too delicate for that amount of gore.

She gasped in anguish as soon as she found the memory she sought. Thor came rushing to her side, wrapping his large arm around her shoulder. I knew she wasn't prepared for what I saw because tears almost immediately started gushing from her crystal blue eyes. She sobbed into her father's chest.

"What happened?" Tony demanded, looking scared. Cap echoed his question with just as much vigor. Bruce then burst out of the room, looking around wildly for me. He spotted me hunched over on the ground with most of the Avengers surrounding me.

"Leo!" he yelled, racing over to me. "I'm sorry, Leo. Jack told me what happened. Are you all right?"

"Why are you asking me?" I replied darkly. "It's her you should be asking."

"What happened?" Thor asked strongly of us both, cradling Ari's head close to him.

"Leo just saw something that he wasn't ready to see," Bruce said a bit evasively. "As a doctor, I'm more used to it but I must admit it wasn't easy to look at myself so I can't imagine how Leo feels."

"I'm okay now," I said, trying to be strong like my parents. I inwardly kicked myself. My parents were assassins; they had seen enough gore to last a lifetime and here I was puking my guts out and crying. They had to be ashamed of me. I shakily got to my feet and I couldn't meet anybody's eyes. "Sorry for the scene, guys."

"I still want to know what the boy saw to affect him so," Thor said pointedly to Bruce.

Bruce yet again avoided a direct answer. "It's not really for me to tell. Come, Leo, do you want to wait with me for the DNA to run through the systems?"

"Sure," I mumbled, my voice trembling. Bruce threw an arm around my shoulders and let me lean against him as we walked back to the room, which I gratefully did. I felt everybody staring at me but I was too embarrassed to turn around and acknowledge them.

As soon as we were out of earshot, Bruce said as softly as possible, "Are you truly okay, Leo?"

"No," I replied honestly, tears itching at the back of my eyes again. "Bruce, she's only a kid. Just a small kid. And her mother . . ." I trailed off as the lump in my throat made it too difficult to speak. "How could her mother do that?"

Bruce usually knew the answer to _everything_ , so I was surprised when he sadly stated, "I don't know, Leo. I don't know who could hurt their child like that. I assume young Charlotte has quite a story to tell."

"I was fighting with her," I whispered, my voice strained with guilt. "And I figured out she was injured. I just didn't know how. And I didn't say anything."

"Leo, you mustn't blame yourself. It was very hectic and confusing, and I don't blame you. You just didn't get the chance to say anything."

"I should have," I growled. "When Ari fetched me and told me about everything, she said Charlotte admitted to having an infected cut too. How much can one girl be hurt, man?"

"She has an infected gash on her stomach," Bruce admitted. "But I have it under control. It's very strange, though, it looks like it came from some wild animal. She has several ribs that I fear are cracked as well. Her hands are raw and blistered from the fire coming out of them."

"You're right," I agreed blackly. "She's got one hell of a story to tell." Bruce led me back into the room, and I made absolute sure to keep my eyes away from her unconscious form. I just couldn't look at her without seeing all the blood and rawness all over again.

"Come in here," Bruce ordered softly, and I followed him into a lab-like room. "I'm already running the DNA through the systems and it shouldn't be too long now. But a little company wouldn't hurt." He smiled at me in his gentle Bruce Banner way.

"Thanks," I said vehemently. "Anything come up?"

"Well, we can't expect it to act this early-" A loud beeping noise interrupted him and he curiously looked into the screen. "This is odd. There's never been a result this early and . . ." Something was wrong. All the blood drained from his face and he looked positively dumbfounded. "Dear God, it can't be."

"What?" I demanded, hastily getting up to stand before him. "What's wrong?"

"There's a match," he whispered hoarsely. "Oh God, there's a match . . ."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense!" I bounced impatiently in place like a little kid in line for ice cream. "Who's the match?!"

He slowly took off his glasses and rubbed them on his coat before placing them carefully down on the counter. He looked at me, still shell-shocked.

"Bruce!" I snapped my fingers to awaken him from his daze. "Earth to Bruce. I'm dying over here."

He took a deep breath and then said so quietly I almost didn't hear him, "It's Tony Stark. Her father is Tony Stark."

The entire world came into a screeching stop around me. He did _not_ just say that. My jaw fell to the floor and I gasped, "Say what now?"

"Tony is her father," he said with a little more confidence this time.

"But that's not possible." I gave off a high-pitched, nervous laugh. "It's Tony, man. He's not father material. That's not the way he rolls."

"Well, then he will have to change his ways because according to this she is a match to his DNA and this thing has never been wrong."

"This has got to be a mistake." I stared at him incredulously. "Re-run the blood." That was when it occurred to me, and when I realized Tony just had to be her dad. Her eyes. Her challenging, wide, dark brown eyes that I could have sworn I had seen before. . . . They were an exact replica of Tony's eyes.

"I could run it fifty more times, the results would be the same." He sighed and ran a hand through his tousled salt-and-pepper hair. "I don't know how to break this to him. It's _Tony_."

"I'll do it," I offered. Bruce shook his head before I could continue.

"It should probably be me, Leo. He'd probably be more accepting if it came from me." He slowly rose from his chair, groaning at the trouble that lay in his future. "He isn't going to take this well."

"No, he isn't. Look, Bruce, I know this sounds really bad, but should we even tell him? He's made it clear how he doesn't ever want to be a dad and would it really be beneficial for Charlotte? I mean, he's not going to want to be her dad and that's not fair to her." I felt horrible after saying it, but it had been itching at both of us like the elephant in the room.

He wrung his fingers together and eyed me thoughtfully. "I do see your point, Leo. I do. But we can't morally or legally keep this from Tony, and it wouldn't be right to keep this from Charlotte. It sounds like she already has a terrible relationship with her mother, it would be wrong to deprive her of a father." He was surprisingly mild for the gravity of my request.

"I don't know, Bruce, but wouldn't it hurt worse for her to know and then for Tony to reject his role in her life? That wouldn't be right either." I was still arguing my case even though I knew I was essentially in the wrong and on the losing side.

"I get what you're saying, Leo. But you're putting Tony in the worst possible light. Sure, he's going to be shocked and probably have a panic attack, but who says he won't accept his fatherly duties? Tony's a lot of things, but a coward isn't one of them. And under his lighthearted, smartass persona lies a man who is willing to unconditionally love and protect those who become close to him. And I have no doubt that he will love that girl like a father should love his daughter, like I love my own daughter, but Leo, we have to give him the chance."

"You're right, Bruce." Heat rushed to my cheeks and I stared at my shoes with shame. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, Leo, you can say anything to me and I won't judge you. You know that." I smiled up at him and he placed his arm back on his shoulders. "Come, Leo. We must tell an unknowing father the good news."

"He's not going to take it well."

"Oh no, he's not. But he still has to know." With that, we proceeded out of the lab and through Charlotte's hospital room. She was still out cold, with Jack stroking her hand. Her life was about to change drastically and she didn't even get to be awake to see it.

We purposely walked through the door and out into the hall. Everybody's heads snapped up to look at us, and I noticed Director Fury had joined them. Ari's eyes were red-rimmed and shiny, and the tears were fresh on her face.

"Well," Cap demanded, speaking up for all of them. "Is there a match?"

Bruce and I shared a meaningful look before Bruce finally decided to spill it. "Yes, there was a match."

"Anyone we know?" Tony chuckled, trying to lighten up the whole situation. He seemed to notice the way we were staring at him and his smile faded. "What? Who's the match?"

"Tony," Bruce sighed, stepping up before the man. "Tony, my friend, it's you. You're the match. You're the girl's father."


	15. Chapter 8 - Part 1: Aryaliana

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry about the cliffy. We're mean like that. Just kidding . . . sorta. Anyway, to make up for it, this chapter will have two long parts that will be updated today! Please read, review, and enjoy! :)**

 **P.S. Happy Halloween!**

 **Chapter 8 - Part 1: Aryaliana**

I regretted it the moment I touched Leo's hand. There wasn't much searching to do because the memory was at the forefront of his mind. I entered the memory through his eyes and felt his horror as we both saw the bloody mess that was her back. Not only did all of his emotions of the memory enter me, but my own sensitivity took a brutal hit and I couldn't hold back the tears that came next.

I felt Daddy move close to me and I dove against him, reveling in the warmth as he held me tight. The torn-up and brutalized skin wouldn't burn itself out of my mind. I didn't pay attention to what was said next because I buried my face into his broad chest. His chest vibrated a couple times as he spoke but I was crying too hard to make out the words.

I heard Leo and Bruce leave, and that was when Daddy pushed me away to look deep into my eyes. "Love, what did you see?"

Conflicted. That was how I was feeling. A huge chunk of me would feel incredibly guilty for saying anything, as it would invade her privacy, but an even larger part of me just wanted to lessen the weight on my shoulders. Unfortunately, I crumpled under the weight of the larger part.

"It was horrible, Daddy."

"What did you see, baby?" We were in our own personal bubble now, just the two of us- like it always was. Just the two of us, because my mother didn't love me enough to want to be a family.

"It was her back," I mumbled into my hands. Daddy gingerly pried my hands off my face. "It was . . . ghastly."

"How so?" Mr. Rogers cut in, and Daddy shot him a look for interrupting. "Well, this whole situation has been awfully confusing. . . ."

I barrelled back into Daddy's chest and he held me close to him again. "There was so much blood," I whimpered into his chest. "And such rawness. . . . Her back was hardly recognizable from anything other than a bloody mess." As soon as I got the words out, the tears started flowing again and I felt so terribly guilty. I shouldn't have said anything.

I looked up through my tears to see the Avengers' expressions ranging from looking physically pained to sickened. Daddy seemed quite bothered himself.

Just then, Director Fury came down the hall once more. "Is the DNA test done?"

"Not yet," Mrs. Romanoff said sharply, clearly annoyed with him for bringing it up again.

He was about to respond when he saw me. "Why is the girl crying?" I glared at him something fierce but before I could fire off a reply, Leo and Dr. Banner came out of the room. Curiosity burned me up inside like a raging wildfire.

Luckily, as most of us seemed to be too overcome by our apprehension to speak, Mr. Rogers took charge. "Well, is there a match?"

I could tell there was a match from the look Dr. Banner and Leo gave each other, and deduced that it had to be an unexpected one. "Yes, there was a match," Mr. Banner said, not surprising me in the slightest.

Even though only a couple minutes ago I was sobbing my eyes out, Mr. Stark seemed inclined to brighten up the tense atmosphere. "Anyone we know?"

Both Leo and Dr. Banner stared at him in such a strange way, that with a flash of intuition, I realized the match just had to be him. _Oh my gods_ , I thought, absolutely stunned. _It's him_?!

"What?" Tony continued, confused. "Who's the match?"

"Tony," Dr. Banner said tentatively, stepping forward so he was within arms-distance of Mr. Stark. I squeezed my eyes shut with anticipation, fearing Mr. Stark's inevitable meltdown. "Tony, my friend, it's you. You're the match. You're the girl's father."

Silence. The only sound I could hear was that of my own pounding heartbeat. I timidly opened my eyes to gauge Mr. Stark's reaction. He was frozen in place, unblinking, and it looked like he forgot how to breathe.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Rogers asked gruffly, the first one to recover from the shock of the blow. "Absolutely certain?"

"I'm absolutely certain. Tony's her father. There is no doubt in my mind."

"Let me see the results," Mr. Stark croaked out, pale as a sheet.

Dr. Banner was endlessly patient with him and appeased, "Of course, Tony."

Leo piped up, "Guys, haven't you seen her eyes? Don't they look familiar?" I searched my mind, and then I remembered. Her blazing, wide, dark brown eyes. Now looking at Tony, I realized that they were identical to his eyes.

I glanced around at all of the Avengers besides Mr. Stark to see recognition cloud their features. "They're exact clones of yours, Stark," Mr. Barton agreed.

Mr. Stark wiped a hand over his ashen face. "I want to see the results. Now, Bruce."

"Why? They're as accurate as you can get," Leo argued, but Dr. Banner nudged him and flashed him a warning look.

"Leo, if he wants to see the results, then we'll let him see the results," he chided, leading the way for Mr. Stark. Leo rolled his eyes and stayed behind.

As soon as Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner entered the room and shut the door, Mrs. Romanoff and Mr. Barton rushed up to Leo. "Leo, are you _sure_ those results are true?"

"It's Bruce, Mom. He's friggin' brilliant. The results are true. He's her father."

Mr. Rogers let loose a long sigh and ran a hand through his golden blond hair. "Once he finds the results to be accurate, we all need to prepare for his meltdown."

Daddy stood up with a confused expression. "I am well aware that this is Stark we speak of, but surely he will be happy? There is no greater gift than that of a child, even if said child likes to cause trouble." He gave me a pointed look as he said the last part, and I smiled sheepishly.

"This is Stark," Mr. Barton and Mr. Rogers said in unison. Mr. Rogers continued, "Tony Stark. He doesn't have a drop of paternal instinct in his blood."

"Still, you all should give him a chance. A child is precious. They change you and morph you into the man you were meant to be. Stark is . . . well, Stark, but he is a good man deep, deep inside." I beamed at my dad, so proud of him. My daddy was a great man with a pure heart.

"Thor, we aren't trying to say he is a bad person but he is a playboy. Or was, I guess. If what they are saying is true, she is broken and messed up and Tony isn't necessarily the type to build someone up and help them. My kids are everything to me and I agree with you, they change you, but that doesn't mean they can change you enough. Plus don't get me started over what Pepper would say to this," Mr. Rogers tried to explain.

I wiped away my final tears and took a deep breath, preparing to speak. "Every man in every realm is made to support a child and a wife. It's in their very genetic makeup. For some it doesn't come easy, for others there is nothing more natural," I looked at my father and smiled, "but it is destiny. Stark was given this child for a reason, no matter the intentions behind it. This is meant to be." I took a long breath and looked around. Even Director Fury was listening intently.

"This girl Charlotte is rather extraordinary," I continued. "Her fighting techniques match mine and I have trained from before she could walk, from before she was born in fact. Her abilities are extremely powerful, yet out of control. Mr. Stark specializes in control. That is why he yearns for knowledge, success, and wealth. He believes with that he can choose his destiny. He is wrong, but he still knows what to do. He yearns to understand, learn as well, and that's what this girl needs, someone who will understand her, teach her, be her guide. The universe is tricky but Stark is a good man who will do well by her." I had to catch my breath by the end of my lecture.

I looked around, expecting someone to say something but they all just looked kinda shocked. "Thor, are you sure that's your daughter? Because I haven't heard that much come out of your mouth since I met you and I sure as hell know nothing you have said was that interesting," Director Fury asked in what looked to be surprise. Daddy glared at him but when he noticed I was watching him he smiled and winked at me.

"Yeah, I thought you only spoke one-sentence responses, Thor," Mrs. Romanoff laughed, breaking the intensity of the moment.

"It isn't wise of you to insult a god," he shot back teasingly.

The group laughed, including me. "Daddy, you're not helping your case." Just then, interrupting all of the mirth, Mr. Stark came angrily barging out.

Mr. Rogers immediately asked, "Are the results true?" He didn't respond and that was an answer in itself. His jaw was so clenched I was surprised it didn't shatter, and he abruptly turned on his heel and stormed down the hall.

Dr. Banner, popping out the door, made moves to go run after him but Mr. Rogers placed a steady hand on his chest, stopping him. "Let him cool off."

"Let me try talking to him," I offered, drawing all attention to myself. "Sometimes talking to a stranger is the best way to go. And I have an odd calming effect on people."

Daddy had this conflicted look when I said that. "I do not want him to take out his anger on you, Aryaliana."

"You can be just around the corner if you'd like," I suggested hopefully. "That way if he gets too out of control you can come and smash him with your hammer."

"I suppose so," he said uncertainly, but I was aware that he knew I wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Does anyone argue?" I searched everyone's expression to see if anyone was in disagreement. "I think he just needs someone to open up a new perspective for him, and I think I can do that."

"Well, based on what you said a couple minutes ago I do think you might be the best one for the job at the moment," Mr. Rogers finally said, looking at the others to see what they had to say. Everyone either nodded or gave a grunt of acceptance, and my resolve was in place.

"Let's go, Daddy," I ordered, leading the way. He followed me closely and the last thing I heard before we turned the corner was Dr. Banner proclaiming,

"I'm going to take care of the girl now."

Startling me, a large hand grasped my shoulder and I smiled at up at my father. "It'll be fine, Daddy. Trust me on this. I have that effect on people and I can help him understand. I'm wise that way." I flashed him a cheeky grin.

"Love, you are one of the wisest people I have ever come into contact with. I do not doubt that. But Stark-"

"I don't think people give him enough credit," I interrupted. He tilted his head thoughtfully and used that to my advantage and continued, "Everybody seems to think he is this self-centered, immature person-"

"That is because he is," he cut in. "But I have fought alongside with the man, and even I must respect and admire the bravery and loyalty the man holds within him. I do believe that he will be able to accept his responsibilities as a father, as long as she doesn't run from them first."

"Well, that's what friends like you are for! To tell him to man up." He didn't respond and I didn't push the issue. Side by side, we turned the corner and almost stumbled upon Mr. Stark's sitting form. His face was buried in his hands. I gestured for Daddy to stay out of sight but he stayed quite close. "Mr. Stark?" I prompted timidly. "How are you feeling?"

"Just great," he spat, looking up to glare at the wall. "I'm in dire need of a drink, and was in the process of going to get one, but I got dizzy and decided to sit down."

"I understand." I slid down the wall to sit next to him and he shot me a weird look, but I didn't even flinch. "Are you okay, Mr. Stark?"

He arched an eyebrow and ran a hand down his face. "Call me Tony. And why do you care? I just met you like an hour ago and the only thing you really said to me was 'The suit is the answer'! What was with that anyway? Come on, distract me from . . . you know."

I didn't want the subject to stray too far away from the topic at hand but I was excited to tell someone. "You see, when I touch something all of its history and information floods through me. Nothing can stop it, and that's why I came to see you. But when I touched your suit, there was _nothing_. Whatever that suit's made of- that's the answer."

He pondered that thoughtfully. "Interesting. I can make you something to help, then."

I beamed at him. "Thank you so much! Now, back to your problem."

He groaned and rigorously ruffled his hair. "Look, I'm really trying to pretend it's not true right now, and you're not helping my case."

I was flabbergasted and _this_ close to slapping him upside the head. "You can't just pretend it's not true. It _is_ true. She's your daughter. You are her father. It's the truth. You're going to have to deal with that."

If looks could kill, I would have been stone cold dead. That was obviously not the answer that he wanted to hear. I subconsciously inched backward to get away from his smoldering gaze, supremely glad that he wasn't wearing his metal suit at the moment.

"'Deal with it? _Deal with it_?" All of a sudden, he jumped to his feet and began vigorously pacing. "Dammit, I can't just _deal_ with it! One moment, I'm just Tony Stark, happily together with Pepper Potts, but I'm still free and able to do whatever I want! Now I hear that I have a _kid_? A kid?! Kids are like bottomless pits of need, they need their dads, I should know and . . . GODDAMMIT, I CAN'T BE A FATHER!"

I was about to reply with a hearty rebuttal when my dad appeared around the corner and immediately started in on Tony. "Stark, you will not address my daughter in this manner."

"Sorry," he spat without sounding very contrite at all. He slammed his fist on the metal wall then almost right after shouted out in pain. " _Dammit_! Damn it all- _everything_! I CAN'T DO THIS!"

Daddy began, "Stark-" but I interrupted him.

"Daddy, please!" I yelled, glaring at him. "This is not your business."

"It is when he yells at my daughter! Only I can do that!" I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

"Just let us be for a minute, okay? Please?" I pleaded, clasping my hands together in a beg. He very grudgingly nodded and disappeared around the corner again.

I turned back to Tony to see him visibly trembling in place and I deduced that he might have been having a panic attack. "Tony, you'll be okay. Really. I understand that you're scared right now, and rightfully so, but-"

"Scared?" His voice came out a rough whisper. "I'm not scared, I'm downright terrified!"

"And that's okay," I soothed, walking over to bravely stand in front of him. "It's okay to be scared- terrified! One minute you wouldn't dream of having children and the next you're a father. I can't imagine how you must be feeling at this moment."

His gaze softened and he nodded slowly in appreciation. "Thank you."

I continued, "I know this is going to be hard for you, but just think, there are so many people here to help you through it! Ms. Potts, Mr. Banner, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Barton, Mrs. Romanoff, my daddy, and even Leo and I! We're all here to help you through this, Tony. You're a lot of things, but you aren't alone."

With a long sigh, he sank down to a sitting position and leaned against the wall. I kneeled down to join him. He eyed me with a whole new respect and murmured half to himself, "Look at me, unloading on a little girl. I'm going to be father of the year, aren't I?"

I tried not to show it, but my heart soared like a bird. He just admitted that he _was_ going to accept his duties as a father. _I knew he would_! I thought happily. "I'm tougher than I look." I smiled cutely. "I can take it."

"Yeah, but I'm talking to you like an adult and I shouldn't be doing that. I don't even know . . . I don't even know who I am anymore. Only a few minutes ago, I was Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Now I'm going to have to add father to that list and I don't know if I can."

"Of course you can," I said positively. "You've accomplished so much already, I'm sure you can overcome this as well."

He grumbled darkly, "It's not as easy as it sounds. It's not like I had the best relationship with _my_ father. Maybe it's genetic."

"As much as we go over this, we're really not going to be fix everything today. It's going to take time and it will be a struggle."

"You're making me feel so much better."

"Shush. I figure that maybe hearing about her a little will help lessen the hardships to come. Maybe just _seeing_ her, seeing your own flesh and blood. Here." Before he could protest, I placed my hand on his and tried to ignore all of his thoughts and memories in search of my own. The memory earlier in the day where we first met her bubbled up. Concentrating as hard as I could, I forced the memory into his mind.

 _She stood in the midst of the trees of Central Park before we fought, the light reflecting off of her pretty blond hair rather nicely but I managed to zoom in on her eyes for him. Her big, dark brown eyes that knew the score and missed nothing: his eyes. Charlotte was pointing her sword right at us and she growled, "Leave me alone now."_

" _We don't want a fight," came from Leo._

" _If you don't want a fight, then just leave." Seeing her again, though, I recognized that she had wanted the fight- and badly. I pulled out my own sword and accepted her challenge._

" _Bring it." Her eyes danced with excitement and she gave off a very familiar smirk (I had only known Tony for a short while and I already recognized the smirk as his). She jumped forward and swiped down her sword._

I froze the memory there and retracted my hand, gauging his reaction. His eyes were stretched wide with wonder.

Secretly, I was doing the happy dance inside. Never before had I been able to control my power so efficiently. I had barely muffled a squeal of jubilance when he said, "That's her. Wow. That's . . . that's my _daughter_. My daughter's a badass." We both laughed at his comment.

"Don't you want to meet her?" I asked hopefully and he cringed away from me.

"I have met her," he tried to avoid. "She was beating up Legolas if I remember correctly."

"I really don't think she was winning but you can think what you want. It's not the same, you didn't _really_ meet her." He was about to argue but I cut him off. "You have to see her, Tony. You have to face your fears."

I could tell he was ambivalent and utterly conflicted, but something hardened in his eyes- his resolve, his courage- and he nodded firmly. "Okay, I'll do it."


	16. Chapter 8 - Part 2: Charlotte

**A/N: Hey, as promised, here is the second part of chapter eight! Please read, review, and enjoy, and we hope you all have a fantastic Halloween! :)**

 **Warning: A bit of angst in the beginning as Charlotte relives a traumatic event.**

 **P.S. Try to catch the _Friends_ reference! Hint: it's one of Tony's lines and it was one of Chandler's many funny lines in the show. **

**Chapter 8 - Part 2: Charlotte**

" _No, no, take me instead! I messed up- me!" I pleaded with the cold-hearted monster that was my mother. Her talons were clasped into my fourteen-year-old brother's shoulder._

" _I'm aware of that, child," my mother spat at me. "And I was going to take you to the drone, but brave young Lucas here decided that he had to undermine my authority and I've had enough of that!"_

" _Just let him go! Take me instead!" I screamed, fighting against one of the guards who held my nine-year-old self back. My brother somehow managed to swerve away from her and rushed up to me, tenderly kissing my forehead._

" _It'll be okay, Charlotte," he whispered into my hair. His light blond hair mingled with mine and we touched foreheads lovingly. "It's going to be okay."_

 _Lucky was always my rock, my sense of security. I peered up into his soulful baby blue eyes for any form of comfort. It was then that I saw the tears swimming in them and with horror I realized he was lying to me. It wasn't going to be okay and we both knew it._

 _Flash-forward, I managed to break away from the guards and run to the drone control room. The faint clanging of swords drew my attention and I burst in the room to see my mother raising the lever far higher than it was meant to go. I attacked her, fought her with every fiber of my being, trying to reach the lever but she was too strong for me._

 _All I could do was look through the glass and see my noble, gallant older brother fight the drone. I slammed my palms onto the glass and shouted out in terror but it was in vain. In one swift move, the drone stabbed his sword through by brother's chest and I screeched, "LUCKY!"_

 _Lucky didn't look up as I called his name. Never again would he. He was dead, I just knew it. And I died right along with him._

 _The last thing I saw before I fainted was my mother's icy blue eyes, and for a second I thought I saw tears in them. . . ._

 _I woke up later, completely numb. I wasn't just numb though, I was dead. Truly dead. My mother was standing over me, looking more furious than I had ever seen her. "It should have been you! Why did he have to defend you, resign himself to this fate?"_

 _With Lucky in my life, I had been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel enough to ward off the darker feelings that had always threatened to invade. But now, now I had nothing left to live for and I gave in to the rage, to the hate. I gave into the darkness._

" _YOU MURDERED MY BROTHER!" I attacked my mother like a rabid animal, very much intending to end her life right then and there. I tried to kill my own mother._

 _My sheer anger probably would have overcome the drugs in my system if it hadn't been for my mother overpowering me. Needless to say, I was sentenced to the worst beating of my life, each lash pushing me further over the edge of darkness. I lost myself that day. July 7, 2009 was the day my brother was killed, but not only that . . . it was also the day I died._

The smell of something burning woke me up. I peeled open my eyes to see an unfamiliar room, but more importantly, my sheets were ablaze and fire was shooting out of my hands and feet- the feet thing was new. "Shit!"

Strange tubes were attached to my nose and arm so I ripped them out before tumbling out of the mess of burning blankets. I connected with the floor with a jolt of pain and scooted backwards away from the growing fire.

A man I remembered seeing from when I was talking to Fury came rushing in with what I _thought_ was a fire extinguisher (not from experience, but education). Jack appeared out of nowhere and begged, "Calm down, Charlotte. Calm down, everything's going to be okay."

I really despised when people told me that everything was going to be okay. The last person to tell me that . . . Jack grasped my head and pulled it to his chest, hugging me. I melted into the embrace, however much it hurt, and the fire stopped.

The man finally managed to put the rest of the fire out, breathing hard with the effort. I was wearing a strange gown that I took an immediate disliking to, but I was grateful that there was another one on backwards to cover me up from behind.

Most of the Avengers plus Fury but minus Stark, Thor, and Ari came barging in, their eyes wide. Everyone stared at me very oddly. "Oops?" I said weakly. Jack chuckled without humor.

The man kneeled in front of me and eyed me with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm good," I lied. The dream had shaken me up. I didn't really know why, but even though my brain replayed the same memory every night, it rattled me every time. Surprisingly, though, I physically felt much better than before. He must have given me some medication to make me feel better. "Who're you?"

"My name's Dr. Bruce Banner," he said kindly, and then stuck out his hand. I tentatively placed my hand in his and we shook. "Considering you kind of, well, destroyed the bed, I feel it would be beneficial to find you another room."

Leo came waltzing up and I could tell he was just bursting to say something. "Uh, Bruce, isn't there something else that we need to tell her first?"

Bruce cast him a tight smile and said sarcastically. "Thank you, my boy, for your noble attempts at subtlety." Leo shrugged shamelessly.

Now I was suspicious and I narrowed my eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

Bruce looked like he very much did not want to be there right now and just then and everybody was looking at me like they knew something _big_ that I didn't- even Jack. It was really bothering me. "Why're you all looking at me like that? What aren't you telling me?"

"I don't think now's the place for this," Bruce said but I wasn't having any of that.

"No, tell me now. I want to know what's you're all hiding." Much to Jack's protests, I managed to get to my feet.

Bruce quickly attempted to grab my hand to lead me to the nearest chair but I backed away from him. "Please, you're hurt and exhausted and-"

His efforts to take my mind off the topic at hand were irking me to no end. " _No_! Tell me what you're hiding from me- _now_!"

His mouth moved but no words came out, and the others looked no better. I was about to repeat my demand when Ari and Stark came bursting in with Stark exclaiming, "What smells like smoke- _oh_."

Ari suddenly said, "Maybe we should leave Charlotte and Tony alone, give them some privacy." I didn't miss her surreptitiously nudge Tony forward with her elbow.

"Wait, why?" It was then that I noticed that even Ari and Stark knew the secret; Stark looked especially bothered. "Does what you're all hiding have to do with him?" Nobody replied and that was my answer. "Okay, so it _definitely_ has to do with him. What's the deal?"

"You're smart," Stark told me, and I couldn't read his expression. It was almost like he was proud, or at least appreciative, but I didn't have the foggiest idea why. He unspokenly signaled for the others to leave and they all filed out one by one, leaving us alone. Jack snuck me an encouraging smile but I was still utterly baffled.

"What's going on, Stark?" I painfully crossed my arms and shifted my weight from foot to foot, unnerved. "Why'd you want to talk to me?"

He just stared at me like I had two heads until he finally blurted out, "I have something very important to say and it involves you."

"I only just met you, what could you possibly have to say that involves me?"

"I know, but I've discovered something . . . quite astronomical." He was dancing around whatever he had to say and only bewildering me more.

"That's nice. Spit it out."

After a long sigh, he finally did spit it out. "I wanted to talk to you because . . . you're my daughter. There, I said it, and it's out. Can open, worms everywhere. . . . You are my daughter and I am your father."

Of all the things he could have said, it just had to be that! To say I was completely floored was an exceptional understatement. I physically couldn't move, couldn't breathe- all I could do was stand there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot. Then I noticed them- _his eyes_. I thought, _Of course_! It was like looking in a mirror. "Say WHAT?!"

He rubbed his hands on his jeans nervously. "Uh, yeah, that was kind of my reaction too," he chuckled, trying to break the tension.

"T-that's not possible," I managed to croak out after a long silence, still frozen in place. "This can't be true. I don't know you. I only just learned your first name was _Tony_ for God's sake." I was babbling and wasn't making much sense, even to myself.

"I felt the same way, but it's true." He lifted up the corners of his lips in what he tried to make a smile.

"No, no, no, no. Nope, not possible." I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, but he was still there. To make certain I wasn't dreaming I pinched my underarm- _hard_ , but this was very much real. "Okay, I just got sucked into an entirely different universe, didn't I? Some bizarro world, like wherever that Thor guy's from?"

He laughed out loud, shaking his head and grinning. "Actually, Thor's from . . . well, he's definitely from a bizarro world but you aren't there right now. This is Earth, and however truly insane it might be- and is- you are my daughter. Trust me, I'm still completely astounded. My mouth is used to taking over the talking when my brain's on pause, though."

"So, this is actually reality right now? This is actually happening? This-"

He cut me off before I could keep on babbling. "Yeah, this is happening. I tend to have that effect on females." He grinned at his own joke then corrected, "I meant that in a different context . . . I shouldn't have said that."

If I wasn't so freaked out, I would have laughed but there were more pressing matters. "Are you totally, absolutely sure?" I grilled him, still very dubious.

"I'm positive. Bruce took the test and I checked it thoroughly and I'm never wrong." I nodded absentmindedly and went back to my dumbfounded disposition. Honestly, I had positively _no_ idea how to react to this. Not only had I never had a father, but I didn't exactly have a mother either, so . . . I didn't know how to be a daughter.

All I could to think to say was, "Ah." He didn't seem to be in much of a mood to be verbose either and I was glad. Finally, I thought of a question that had formed in my mind and asked, "What does that mean?"

He knitted his eyebrows together and looked to be deep in thought. "What do you mean exactly?"

I let off the ghost of a laugh. "I'm not really sure. . . . Um, well, uh . . . what happens now?" My mouth and throat were completely dry now.

He sucked in a breath sharply and I could tell he didn't have the faintest idea. "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. All I know for sure is that you're my kid, so, uh, yeah."

I didn't know what to say to that so I just gave a noncommittal grunt. It was so tense between us, in here was the last place on the planet I wanted to be. Well, except with my mother. This situation still was far better than that.

"I'm in a relationship," he suddenly said. "We live together. Her name is Pepper, Pepper Potts."

Again, I didn't have a very good response to that so I just said, "Uh, good for you?"

He was flustered but he didn't really seem the type to act like that. "No, uh, I mean that, well, Pepper is a very nice woman and I'm sure that she'd be okay if you, you know . . ." He trailed off.

"Move into your home?" I finished weakly and he nodded, looking away. This. Was. Unreal. A lot of me didn't want this but a small- mostly hidden- part of me was rejoicing that I finally had a father. The shock caused me to sway on my feet and he jumped forward to catch me before I fell.

"I got you," he murmured and at the same time we both realized what position we were in. I was being held snug in his arms, loosely against his chest as he righted me. He was acting . . . fatherly I guess and I was in no way ready for that so I quickly pushed myself away to an acceptable distance.

"Uh, thanks," I mumbled almost too quietly for him to hear but he did seem to hear it as he gave off a single nod.

"So, your name's Charlotte?" he asked. "If I had a daughter, that was the name I had chosen. I guess I told your mother that. . . . Um, who's your mother?"

I was quite surprised that he was with so many women that he couldn't even remember which one could have been my mother. I spat, "Claire Worth."

His eyes widened and his eyebrows raised up as far as they could go. "Wow, I do not remember sleeping with her. . . ."

I caught something in his tone and demanded, "Do you know her now?"

He squirmed a bit and said rather cryptically, "She's not an unknown person. Um, anyway, what's your full name then?"

Really, I wanted to probe deeper in how he knew my mother but I could tell he wasn't going to divulge any more details so I sighed and said, "Charlotte Claire Worth."

"Ah, Worth. Figures. I guess she was being nice enough, naming you Charlotte. She wouldn't exactly give you my last name if she didn't even tell me about you." He sounded bitter about it.

It was my turn to be vague. "She's been a little busy over the years." Surprisingly, he didn't investigate that and we returned to that awkward silence. I desperately wanted to get out of that room so finally I said, "Um, I think I have to go . . . get some air."

His expression turned to one of concern and he asked, "Are you sure you should in your condition?"

"I'm fine," I replied curtly and I didn't give him much of chance to argue because I was already out the door. The Avengers and friends were down the hall looking at me so I purposely went the other way. Once I was certain I was alone, I fell to my hands and knees, gasping. "What the actual hell?"

I was so confused and nervous and sca- no, I would never admit to being scared. The metal floor was nice and cold and I was close to completely collapsing anyway so I pressed my forehead down against it to try to control my rapid heartbeat. One moment, I was Charlotte Worth: daughter of the world's biggest tiger mom and cold-hearted bitch extraordinaire, and training to be a deadly soldier and assassin. Okay, so I had a lot going on before but now I was the daughter of a man I had known for hardly more than hour. "Why me, universe? Why do you hate me so much? What'd I do to you?"

"Talking to yourself?" I glanced up to see Leo staring down at me curiously and I glared up at him.

"I'm actually having a very important conversation right now and I'd appreciate it if you left me to it."

He chuckled and then asked, "Hey, if you want some fresh air I can take you there."

Fresh air was exactly what I wanted- and needed. I was without it my entire life and the few days I spent outside I was already addicted to the stuff. "Sure, why not?"

He led me up a maze of corridors that I didn't even attempt to memorize to the roof of the place. I welcomed the cool breeze as it tickled my skin and tousled my hair. "Do you go up here often?"

"I used to, but I don't really spend much time with S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. The Avengers are kind of trying to separate themselves from them so I don't hang out here much anymore. There're better places to get fresh air anyway," he explained, walking over to stand on the very edge of the building. "So, you know about Tony, I assume?"

"Yeah, he told me." I shuddered at the memory and went to join Leo at the ledge. "This whole thing's been . . . insane. Everything's been so crazy and different these last few days. I'm not sure if it's a good thing yet."

He cast me a sympathetic sideways glance. "It can be a good thing if you want it to be. It looks like your life before wasn't so great."

I was curious to how he knew that but I didn't really care much at the moment. "No, it wasn't."

"Well then, all of the crazy stuff that's happening now, it's got to be better than that, right?" He smiled at me and I actually genuinely smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. Anything's better than that."

His smile grew even broader. "See? You're already seeing the bright side. It might seem like everything's changing and out of control, but maybe once the dust settles you'll actually like it."

I took a moment to consider that, staring out into the horizon. "Everything _is_ changing, but I guess it might not be so bad. Who knows? I guess time will tell. And even if I don't like it, I'll have to deal with it because it's not like I have much of a choice in the matter." For the second time in a minute, I grinned at him. "But you know what? I'm not one to back down from a challenge. Bring it on, world. Bring it on."


	17. Chapter 9: Leo

**A/N: Hello, people of the world! Here's chapter ten of this story! This chapter (which is quite long) includes some bonding between the three big OCs, and a little mini-adventure :). Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks :)!**

 **P.S. Thanks so much for the reads, alerts, and favorites and a special thanks to SpecialBobcat10 and Sarah for reviewing! You guys mean so much to us! :D**

 **Chapter 9: Leo**

She looked so strong right now, her blond hair ruffling in the breeze and her stance so bold and proud. Her brown eyes were blazing with the challenge that was set before her and I knew she had enough inner strength to overcome it.

"You're staring at me," she said with a sideways glance, clearly amused. I blushed and looked away.

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I don't care."

To try to change the subject, I said, "You know, there are others that are going to want to meet you. Like, Captain America has a twin son and daughter and Dr. Banner has a daughter that's like four or five."

Charlotte seemed impressed. "So, what are they anyway, superheroes? They manage to do that all with kids?"

I nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah. A few months ago Thor's brother Loki came and took mind control over my dad and terrorized everyone and a bunch of aliens attacked New York. . . . It's kind of a long story. Anywho, all of the Avengers saved the world and I wanted to fight in it but they said no but I snuck out to New York anyway and shot a couple before my mom made me leave."

Her eyes were wide and she nodded awkwardly. "Um, that's cool. Is the world in peril a lot around here?"

"Yeah, basically."

She shifted her weight from foot to foot and said, "So, this is . . . tense. What do you do for fun around here? Anything to avoid everybody downstairs."

A great idea suddenly floated above my head like a lightbulb. "Hey, stay here. You wanna forget about everything?"

She looked at me weirdly but then nodded fiercely. "Yeah, that'd be real nice."

I bounced up and down in place and grinned widely. She smiled too; maybe I was infectious. "Then I've got a fabulous idea. But, just as a little warning, _you can't tell anyone_."

Before she could interrogate me, I darted away over to the structure near the edge of the roof that led downstairs. There was a small space behind the structure that I stored my little secrets. _I'll use the fireworks for a more special occasion_ , I thought as I sifted through them. Finally, I pulled the desired items out and brought them over to her.

Feigning somberness, I displayed the items in front of me and let her look at them. "These," I said, pointing to the metal sticks, "I use quite often. Well, I only need one but there are a couple extra when Cap's kids want to use them. Tony built them for us to fool around with, but nobody else knows, so you got to keep this hush hush."

"They're metal sticks, I'm not going to be spreading the word," she said dryly. I glared at her and pretended to be offended.

"Watch this." I grabbed the sticks and snapped them open, watching with glee as her eyes opened up real wide. They opened up into these amazing cloth and metal flying machines- gliders. "These are called gliders. You can fly with them. I do it all the time."

She raised her eyebrows dubiously. "You fly over this place all the time and they don't notice?"

I scoffed, "Of course they notice. I just made a deal with them to not tell my parents. Or Cap."

She was finally understanding the beauty of the plan, smiling again. "So, we could just fly away from here, take a break from all this?"

"Totally. That's what I always do. The Avengers are great, like a big extended family, but it's easy to suffocate around them."

She nodded absentmindedly and I could tell she was nursing an idea. "Do you think . . . um, do you think we should show these to Ari? She might like them."

I beamed, my smile threatening to rip across my face. "Awww! You wanna make friends with Ari!"

Her face instantly contorted into a dark glower and she snapped, "I never _said_ that."

"You were thinking it. But you're right, I'll go get her." I didn't wait for her to protest, but honestly, as I rushed down the stairs, I didn't hear her do so. She was opening up, I just knew it.

I sprinted back to the hallway where we had all gathered before and-the deities just had to love me-Ari was standing alone, a little ways away from all of the other adults. "Ari," I hissed, getting her attention. "Follow me!"

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why?" Then she gasped. "Charlotte ran off. Is she with you?"

Even though her tone was accusing, I nodded proudly and replied, "Rightly so. Now, come on, we've got something freakin' fantastic planned and you just have to take part in it."

She barely had to think it over; this girl had an insatiable curiosity. "All right, but this better be good."

"What part of freakin' fantastic do you not understand?" Luckily, she was more amused than anything, so she actually did follow me.

We charged up to the roof and I hurried over the gliders, positioning my body in front of them so Ari couldn't see. "You wanted good, Ari? Well guess what? I'mma teach you how to fly!"

She stared at me, her mouth ajar, for a long moment before hesitantly asking, "Is this really such a good idea, I mean surely that's not normal here?"

Charlotte quickly tried to soothe her- well, I wouldn't exactly call it _that_. . . . "C'mon, you goody goody, this is going to be really cool. Embrace it."

"I've flown in Asgard many times, but I'm not usually allowed to do it on my own. I'm _certain_ my father wouldn't approve-"

Charlotte rolled her eyes to the sky and groaned, "Oh come _on_! Who cares what he thinks?"

I glanced over at Charlotte but said nothing. She just didn't understand. Yeah, she had a mother, but it seemed like their relationship was god awful and she never had a father before an hour ago. So, she really just did not get why Ari would have any concerns. If I had said something like that with _my_ dad in the room, then he would most certainly not be happy to say the least.

To interrupt the building argument, I lifted up the glider and stood on the edge of the roof. "I'll show you girls how to fly these things, and you can decide if you want to or not."

"I definitely am," Charlotte declared. I guided the glider into the proper position and, just like that, jumped off the roof.

"Leo, you'll hurt yourself!" Ari shouted after me but Charlotte just cheered me on.

"You just got to get the hang of it, it's really easy!" I yelled back, tilting the glider so I could circle the roof like a hawk. "Tony made them! You just have to prop your legs and arms into the right holsters and just . . . use your instincts!"

Charlotte grabbed one of the gliders, her expression lit up with excitement. "I'm going to try!"

Ari latched onto her shoulder and chided, "Charlotte, that's not a good idea. You don't know how to fly it-"

"I'll figure it out!" she cried, positioning her hands and feet in the proper places before hopping over to the edge of the roof.

Now, normally, I would warn her against this- she had absolutely no experience with these things, but whenever I was in the air like this, letting the wind carry me, the adrenaline always took over. And, in a way I would possibly regret later, I coaxed her on.

Much to Ari's disapproval, Charlotte took one huge step and leaped off. Making my heart skip a beat, the glider didn't smooth out, instead it dropped down like a rock.

"CHARLOTTE!" Ari screamed, leaning over the edge to get a better look.

I was about to zoom down to rescue her when she managed to even it out, soaring higher to fly side by side with me. She was actually _laughing_ , throwing her head back in the wind. "That was a rush! This is . . . this is _amazing_!" She let out an exuberant whoop.

"C'mon, Ari, have some fun!" I pleaded. "I-I . . . _I dare you_!" I honestly didn't think it would work. I really didn't. But, in a matter of seconds, she was shimmying ducking under the glider and readying herself.

"I'm no coward," she stated proudly. A spark of fear flashed through her eyes but she didn't let that stop her as she took the first few steps forward. And that was when Cap came into sight right as Ari stepped onto the edge.

"I've been sent to find you guys- _Aryaliana, what in the world are you doing_?! Your dad's gonna kill me. Oh, God, Leo and Charlotte . . . you kids come back here!"

Charlotte and I flew a considerable distance away from the angry man, and rather than running back, Ari jumped right off the roof without a second's thought. The three of us lowered enough to ensure Cap was out of our sight.

Ari's glider trembled and shook and threatened to take a dive. "This isn't working!"

"Ari, just let it _glide_ ," I crooned, swooping down to fly next to her. "Relax yourself. It'll come naturally."

And then, just like that, she let the breeze carry her and the three of us flew side by side. "Let's take a little break from all this!" I yelled over the wind. "I know a good place to chill out!" Without waiting for an answer, I lowered the front of the glider slightly to pick up speed.

We continued comfortably like that for a little while until I heard Ari below, "Charlotte, no!" I turned my head around to see Charlotte detaching herself from the glider. _What the hell is she doing_?

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded urgently of her.

She just gave us a huge smirk and winked. "Watch this!" She pulled herself out from under the glider and, quick as a flash, hurled herself over on top of it. It wobbled dangerously for a couple seconds and I anxiously anticipated for her to fall off, but she _didn't_. No, she was _surfing_ the glider.

"Whooooo!" she cried, getting the hang of it. "Boo yeah! This is awesome! Guys, you've _got_ to try this."

"ARE YOU INSANE?" came from Ari, who made no moves to follow through with Charlotte's request. "You're going to fall off!"

She dropped her arms to the side and mocked a falling motion just to piss Ari off more. "Nah, I'm not."

That was when I realized that she _definitely_ inherited Tony Stark's arrogance. I knew it was in her best interest for me to back up Ari, but . . . "This fan-friggin'-tastic! I never thought of that before! I've got to try this."

Ari turned on me and her eyes were crystal blue daggers that clearly intended to stab me straight through my very soul. "Leonid whatever-your-middle-name-is Barton, you better not! If you do, I'll-I'll . . . I'll tell your parents!"

Charlotte immediately leaped to my defense as I gaped at her, flabbergasted. "Hey, he let you on this trip so you've got to chill out, man!" She pretended to lean over and lose her balance again to anger Ari.

"Don't do that, Charlotte! That's really dangerous! If you don't get down right now, I'm going to tell Tony all about this!"

The sneer on Charlotte's face could be seen from a mile away and she countered, "Girl, Tony _made_ these. I hardly think he'll care. And if he does, then that will be enough for the both of us because I sure as hell don't! I just met the dude."

Ari retorted, "I think he would be concerned to know that his daughter is trying to get herself _killed_."

"I really don't think he'll care. But whatever, tell him. I really, really could not care less." Ari opened her mouth to argue when it happened. The wind had been smooth and perfect for this, but suddenly, there was a jagged bout of turbulence that shook Ari and I up, but made Charlotte fall off her glider and plummet downwards with a shout of surprise.

"CHARLOTTE!" we yelled in unison. Ari veered down to attempt to catch her and I reached out and snatched her glider out of midair so I could try to toss it to her for to balance if I got the chance. But . . . there was no need.

See, Charlotte wasn't falling to her death anymore. She was hovering in place, her face a mask of shock. "I'm not falling. . . . Hey, I'm not falling! All right!"

We circled around her over and over again because we couldn't afford to come to a standstill like that. I didn't have the faintest idea how she could be doing that but something must of occurred to Ari because she exclaimed, "Of course! You've been able to control fire and earth, why not air?"

Charlotte thought it over for a moment then grinned real wide. "Damn straight. Now I guess I'll have to jump off a bridge or something to see if it will work with water!"

"That's not funny!"

"Loosen up, will you?"

"Can you use the air to propel yourself forward?" I inquired curiously of her. She scrunched up her face in concentration but only managed to move a foot or two forward.

"Not really at the moment. Aw man, I think I'm stuck! Oh well, I guess I'm just gonna stick around here. . . ."

I laughed and threw her her glider. "C'mon, ride it like a normal person and I'll take you two to the place." Charlotte placed it on properly and dipped downwards to gain some momentum.

Then I remembered the special feature Tony included in the gliders. "Hey, guys, press the button at the front of the glider. It makes it go super fast. Watch this!" I reached forward and pressed the button and yelped as the glider jerked forward, then the glider zoomed forward with a newfound speed.

I looked over my shoulder to see that Charlotte and Ari were getting a whole lot smaller until they clicked the button too and caught up with me. "Where are we going?" Ari called over to me while Charlotte did loopty loops with her glider.

"Just wait and see."

Several minutes later, the trio landed in a secluded, grassy area just outside of the city surrounded by trees. "It's nothing special, I just come here to stay sometimes when it all gets too much. Cap's kids sometimes join me."

It was a nice place. Nothing extraordinary. It was just . . . peaceful.

"This place is very nice. You mentioned Captain America's children several times," Ari brought up. "Who are they?"

"Oh, my my my, those two are not at all what you will expect. Charlotte, you will definitely like them. They're twins. The older twin, the boy, is named Joseph, Joey for short, and he's pretty chill. The girl's named Evelyn, Evie for short, and she's a hell of a lot of fun to be around. They're really not a lot like Cap so he has his hands full with them." I liked to think Evie and I had some romantic tension we had to work through but even if that was true, Cap would kill me before I could find out.

Ari and Charlotte exchanged this secret look and the latter asked, "Does Joey look like Cap?"

Oh. So that's what they wanted to know. "Um, yeah, I guess. They both kind of do. They both are blond-haired and blue-eyed so, yeah, they look like him." I decided to add, "Well, Joey's no Cap, but . . ." _Sabotage- c_ _an't have them attracted to him._

Almost immediately the girls shared a smile and Charlotte asked, "When can we meet him? . . . I mean them."

"Did I say he looked like Cap? He actually looks like . . . Donald Trump's hair. . . ."

"Who?" they asked in unison. I waved it off sheepishly.

"Do you want to meet them?" They nodded rather indifferently but I pulled out my phone anyway. "They know where this hideout is, but they're the only ones."

My phone had been clicked off all day because, well, I had been doing some clearly questionable things and didn't want to hear it from all of the Avengers.

With much trepidation, I turned my phone on and gasped once I saw how many voicemails I had from throughout the day. Twenty-three.

Most of them were from my parents and I knew if I clicked on them then I would receive a hefty tongue-lashing, so I avoided those. There were surprisingly a couple of Cap's and Bruce's in the last few minutes along with _more_ of my parents', and a couple of Tony's. Joey and Evie's numbers even appeared in the last ten minutes. I scrolled through my contact list and pressed on Evie's.

She answered on the second dial. "Leo, what the hell is going on? I'm at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base with Joey, and the parent people are going crazy. Dad told me like fifteen minutes ago that Thor has a daughter and Tony just found out he had one? Why do I miss all the important things?"

I laughed silently and said, "All of that's true, Evie. I know it's crazy. But it's true. And I'm kind of with them right now, at You-Know-Where."

An accusing note entered her tone. "You took them there? I thought that was your, Joey's, and my place."

"Yeah . . . sorry about that."

"Well, you do realize the others are going batshit crazy, right? They called you like a hundred freaking times. We were filled in on what you did today and all I can say is you done fucked up." That was Evie, blunt as always.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. That's not the reason I'm calling, though."

"Then what?"

"Want to join us?" I asked hopefully. There was a long pause on the other end before she finally said,

"Did you take all the gliders?"

I grinned and shook my head even though she couldn't see. "No, there are extra."

"Then we'll meet you there." She then hung up on her end without saying goodbye. I knew Evie and Joey would come. They were both troublemakers like moi, and wouldn't dare turn down a chance to slip away and have some fun- even in the middle of chaos. They really weren't a lot like Cap.

"They're coming," I told Ari and Charlotte happily. They raised their eyebrows and Ari piped up,

"Aren't the others looking for us? Is it really wise for them to sneak off?"

"No, it's not," I said cheerfully, falling back down on the grass. "This is gonna be great."

For a while, we just lay there comfortably. There was a gentle breeze, a few bird chirping, it was nice. Joey and Evie were taking their sweet time, but I really did not mind. And of _course_ , that serenity was ruptured like a balloon.

We had sat up in an easygoing silence, letting the peace wash over us. I could tell by the pain appearing in Charlotte's eyes that the pain medication was wearing off so I planned to take them back soon. And that was when I noticed a glint out of the corner of my eye, like a flash reflecting from . . . a mirror.

"GET DOWN!" I shouted, wrapping arms around both their necks and bringing them down to the grass. A loud _bang_ of a gunshot followed merely a second later, zooming over our heads.

"Who the hell is trying to kill us?" Charlotte demanded. She was still in the hospital gown and had no weapons on her so I had to protect her.

Another gunshot fired, then another. I pushed the girls into the trees as Ari began drawing her weapons. Hiding behind a tree, I pulled several arrows out of my quiver and strung them up on my bow, leaning out only barely to get a glimpse of our attacker.

Crap. Eight men were approaching, all armed. Octuple crap. I jumped out from the tree's protection to rapidly fire the arrows one after another before returning to my hiding place. A soft groan of pain soon followed, making me aware that I had at least hit one target.

Ari did the same, stepping out just long enough to fire several arrows before ducking away again. Another explanation of pain: she hit one. "Who are they?" she whispered. I had no idea but by Charlotte's grim expression of realization, she knew.

"Guards," she said quickly. "My mother must have sent them after me." Another bullet flew our way and we all flinched. She peeked out and told Ari, "I have an idea. Give me your bow and a couple arrows. I've got the best angle."

Ari wordlessly tossed her weapon over, taking out a sword of her own, and Charlotte grabbed the arrows. Much to our surprise, she managed to torch a small amount of fire from her hands and light them up. "They don't have their guns drawn at the moment. Leo, jump out with me and fire as many as you can, okay? This is our chance."

"One," we muttered together. "Two, _three_." We rolled out and fired the arrows together, watching as they knocked down target after target. Charlotte's predictions were accurate; her angle was nearly perfect and the fire only helped.

Charlotte handed back the bow and arrow and let the fire begin to crackle in her palms. "I'm going in."

"Is that such a good idea-" Ari was too late, Charlotte had already charged forward and I refused to let her go alone so I was on her tail.

When we arrived, all eight of them were down but four were already getting up. _Great, they must have bulletproof vests_ , I thought. Arrows could pierce those, but not terribly well. At least several of them had to focus on patting out the fire licking at their clothes.

A flash of orange caught my eye and I couldn't help but smile when I saw Ari side by side with us. As we neared the men, the closest one fumbled with his gun but Charlotte socked him in the jaw before he could make a move.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, were when Joey and Evie Rogers swooped down on their gliders and decided to join us to kick some ass. "What's going on?" Joey shouted, kicking one of the guards in the chest and stealing his gun. The guard went flying backwards.

Evie gave me a quick grin before zooming forward and snatching the guns from each and every guard. You see, Cap's super-human serum was passed on genetically. Because of it, Joey had super-human strength and Evie had super-human speed. The twins really arrived at a great moment.

"They're after her," I said, pointing at Charlotte. "Tony's daughter."

Charlotte barely looked over at them before one of the guards tackled her to the ground. He had a taser that he tried to push into her skull, but she squirmed out of his hold, kicked the taser out of his hand, then proceeded to use it on him. He crumpled to the ground, a twitching mess.

Charlotte admired her weapon. "Least I have something to fight with." She pressed the trigger to watch the electricity crackle for effect.

A guard snuck up behind Ari and I was about to yell out a warning, but she spun around and yanked out her dagger at the same time, whacking him on the head with the flat of the blade. The fight was _on_.

Arrows weren't particularly useful in hand-to-hand combat, so I had to fight without the weapon I typically used as a crutch. Don't get me wrong, I was still an excellent fighter, but I preferred to fight long-range.

As they fought, Charlotte and Ari kept sneaking glances over at Joey, much to my annoyance. Yeah, he looked like Cap with his golden blond hair and blue eyes and whatnot, but they didn't have to _obsess_ over it.

Jealous, I satisfied myself to look over at Evie, whose long waves of golden hair whipped around her as she fought. She looked absolutely gorgeous as she kicked some serious ass; all three girls did. I was the luckiest guy. . . .

The fight was over almost as soon as it started. Without their guns, the guards were basically useless. None of us had escaped injuries, though. Ari was a little roughed up from my mother from before, but now she had a fresh bloody nose and a red mark on her cheek that was going to become a bruise. Joey had a rapidly swelling eyelid, Charlotte had a busted and fat lip with blood pouring out, but Evie looked worse off.

There was a cut on her eyebrow that was streaming blood down the right side of her face. She had to constantly wipe the blood away so it wouldn't drip into her eye and she pressed her palm against the wound. "Bastard," she spat at the guard who had done that to her. Joey, as the protective older twin, kicked him hard in the side. I could hear the _crack_ of several ribs a good several meters away.

Charlotte pinned one down and held her taser to his throat. "How did you find me?" she growled.

His eyes flared with defiance but he stayed silent, so she pushed the taser deeper into his neck. "I'm not going to ask this again. _How did you find me_?"

When he still didn't respond, she slammed the taser down into his chest and let the electricity jolt through his body. A few seconds later, he was shaking and through his chattering teeth, he cried, "W-we've b-been track-cking you af-fter we h-heard r-r-reports f-from our associates about a g-girl using f-fire in public."

That didn't add up. From what I heard, Charlotte had been keeping low for several days now. Why did they come after her now? I shared a meaningful look with Ari, she obviously thinking the same thing.

Charlotte pressed her knee down into his chest and snapped, "I've been free for days. Why did she only choose to find me _now_ and how did she trace me to _here_?"

When he hesitated to answer, she angrily pressed the taser again and I couldn't help but wince as the guard yelled out in pain again. "Charlotte, stop."

She whipped her head around to glare at me but did stop tasing him. Sweat was running down the considerably paler man's face. "W-w-we l-located y-you to Central P-Park. W-when y-your f-friend b-brought you the st-tolen j-jacket, we p-purposely r-r-ran into h-him without h-him knowing and p-put a b-bug on the j-jacket. Only s-soon after was w-when the earthqu-quake happened and y-you were ap-p-p-prehended."

"What about Jack? Does she want to hurt him, too?"

"N-no! Sh-she d-doesn't c-care about him." Charlotte stood up and asked Ari,

"Look, I know you don't want to do this because you can't touch anything without the complicated effects, but can you _please_ check if he's lying? I can't afford to put Jack into danger."

Ari nodded without the slightest hint of hesitation and kneeled down besides the man, grabbing his hand in two of hers. It occurred to me that she could have done this earlier, but this was Charlotte's problem to sort out.

A few seconds later, Ari righted herself and told Charlotte, "I dove into his memories and your mother said to kill him as long as he's with you. The guard asked what if he got away, and she said to let him go. She said it's too late to catch the other children, and she has no need for them anymore. She . . . she only wants you."

Charlotte nodded slowly and bent over until she was nose to nose with the quivering man. "So, the only reason you found me now was because I was essentially alone?"

"Y-yes!" the man exclaimed, tears swimming in his eyes.

Charlotte captured this deadly look in her eye and tossed the taser to the side, enclosing his throat with her hands. "You tell my mother that she can try to capture or kill me all she wants, but it's not going to work. Got that?" He nodded, still terrified. Charlotte abruptly stood up and he breathed a sigh of relief.

We all prepared our gliders, only waiting for her now. She grabbed her glider as well, and sent a venomous final look to all of the guards. "And you tell her to go to hell while you're at it."


	18. Chapter 10 - Part 1: Aryaliana

**A/N: S'up, y'all! This chapter is split into two parts, and both parts will be posted today. This part contains a bit of a reveal . . . well, sorta, you'll see. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! :)**

 **P.S. Thanks so much for the reads and follows and favorites, and a special thanks to jafcbutterfy, Sarah, and ShadowBobcat10 for reviewing! You guys mean so much to us.**

 **Chapter 10 - Part 1: Aryaliana**

Leo said we were almost back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters now. My heart beat wildly with fear, almost more than when we were being attacked. My father was _already_ furious with me from before, I couldn't even imagine how he would be like now.

I felt truly bad for Charlotte as her mom literally tried to murder her and tried to say a few consoling words, but each and every time she shut the conversation down. Her eyes were pointed daggers, ready to kill.

Joey and Evie Rogers seemed all right. I could tell Evie was the more talkative of the twins, while Joey was more the strong and silent type. The closer we grew to the headquarters, I noticed that they looked more and more worried and I remembered that Captain America was their father. He didn't appear to be the most easygoing man.

"Are you okay?" I asked Charlotte for the thousandth time.

She hissed, "Ari, if you ask that one more time then I'm knocking you out of the air." Evidently she was still a bit upset from the assassination attempt.

"Right, I'm sorry."

"And if you _apologize_ one more time-" That was when Leo swerved in between us, presumably to defend me from any unprovoked attacks.

My heart shot into my throat once the roof of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters came into view. Standing there on the roof was my father, Leo's parents, Captain America, Dr. Banner, and even Tony. I got to say, they could've looked happier.

"All of them," Leo muttered under my breath. "This is just peachy."

Joey took a deep, audible breath as we approached the roof and said, "My comrades, it's been an honor serving with you."

Evie, as the less eloquent speaker, piped up, "Yeah, so, basically . . . we're fucked."

"That sums it up," Leo replied, his voice rather small. "We're boned." I did not care even the slightest bit for their foul words but I found myself agreeing.

Great, now we were about to land. We all slowed down and rolled our way onto to solid floor of the building one at a time. My body ached from the many fights and injuries that came with them and my brain was on overdrive as well, the adrenalin had allowed the surging information of everything to bother me less, but now things calmed down it made its presence known. In sum, I felt like I had been trampled by an entire Asgardian army and with all the eyes staring down at us I knew it wouldn't be better for a while.

We were all just sitting on the ground, being stared/glared at by our elders. It was supremely tense and awkward.

Leo recovered first and stood up, "Hey, Mommy, have I ever told you how much I love you?" In true Leo fashion he acted as if he had done no wrong and nothing had happened. Mrs. Romanoff looked incensed at his shallow attempt to get back into her good graces so he took a good few steps back and his parents said in unison,

"Don't talk right now."

I stood up next, helping Evie and Charlotte to their feet. Evie patted my shoulder gratefully and Charlotte just nodded aloofly.

That was when the fact that we had injuries (minor injuries, but injuries nonetheless) kicked into the adults' minds. Dr. Bruce Banner stepped forward and began examining Evie first, as she looked the worst off.

"What happened?" Captain America demanded in what I assumed was his best and well-practiced no nonsense tone. We all shared looks that read 'How much do we tell them?'

"You're hurt," Daddy said, concerned and furious at the same time. He made an attempt to wipe the dried blood off my face but I ducked away. "Who hurt you all?"

This time, we all looked to Charlotte. This was her story to tell but she was in no mood to answer coherently. She was visibly trembling with rage.

Leo apparently decided it would be the best to pull the "Pity us, we almost died" card, and he did. "Um, nothing much except . . . we almost died." Evie and Joey nodded strongly.

The adults' universal expressions of anger morphed into shock and worry. I had to admit, Leo was one cunning boy. "What happened?" Tony, Daddy, and Captain America asked at the same time Dr. Banner, Mrs. Romanoff, and Mr. Barton said, "Who did this?"

"It's difficult to explain," I said tentatively when nobody would clarify.

Daddy finally snapped and boomed, "That's it. I knew you wouldn't fair well in Midgard. I'm taking you back to Asgard, where you will be safe."

I stared up at him in horror. "Daddy, no, you can't!"

"My decision has been made, child."

" _You can't do this_!"

Before Daddy could respond, Mr. Barton said, "Thor, we can all work this out here. You can't take her back _now_."

"I can and I will. She is my _daughter_. I have to do everything I can to protect her."

Captain America reasoned, "Of course you can, Thor, but wouldn't it be better to take her back _after_ you hear what happened?"

Daddy took a moment to sort through his inner conflict, but he finally said reluctantly, "I will return her after I hear the explanation."

Now all I had to do was distract him enough to forget about it.

Leo decided to be the one to give the much needed explanation. "Well, Charlotte, Ari, and I were just chilaxing in my hideout place- that you guys don't know about- and I saw the flash of what I realized was a mirror, so I pushed the two of them down right before a bullet was shot." Mr. Barton and Mrs. Romanoff surreptitiously edged towards him as he finished; however mad they were, their child had still nearly died.

I continued, "We hid away in the trees, where Leo, Charlotte, and I each fired a few arrows and shot them down. They had some kind of special vests, so we went to attack and then Evie and Joey flew in and helped us."

Throughout the story, Dr. Banner gave us each a thorough once-over and concluded that while we were okay, he wanted to take us to his office and patch us up. Also, he was concerned that Charlotte's already bad physical state might have worsened.

Tony said, "Do you know why they went after you? You're just a couple of kids, what would they want with you? I mean, really, you'd think they would have better things to do with their lives."

Leo tactlessly pointed to Charlotte. "They were after her. We were only basically there at the wrong place and time. They only wanted her."

Now all eyes were glued on her and she glowered at the ground, refusing to meet any one of our gazes. Tony remarked, panic growing in his features, "Nobody could know yet that you're my daughter, unless it leaked I suppose. Maybe it leaked to the wrong people and they tracked you down to get to me."

Charlotte looked up with fire in her eyes and yelled, "Not everything's about you! You had absolutely _nothing_ to do with it!"

While Tony was busy looking affronted, Captain America stepped in and chastened, "You're not being fair."

She finally exploded, her eyes wild with rage, "Will you all lay the fuck off? And you're not my father, Cap. And Tony might be my sperm donor, but he's not my damn father either. I don't have one!"

Now hurt gleamed in Tony's eyes and by the sharp intakes of breath all around us, it was clear that she went too far. Captain America, more intimidating than I had ever seen him, darted forward to point a finger in her face. Charlotte looked about ready to bite it. "Don't talk to your elders like that. What has you so worked up?"

"My bitch of a mother," she spat, stepping out of his reach as Captain America had to suck in a breath to calm himself. Captain America was clearly a respectful and polite man who admired his elders, and this almost pushed him over the edge.

"Don't talk about your mother like that," he ground out through clenched teeth. He was beginning to lose his temper, and Tony tensed besides me- she was his daughter, after all, and Captain America had quite a menacing aura at the moment. Mr. Barton's and Mrs. Romanoff's eyes were flicking warily between the three, preparing for the worst.

I decided to point out helpfully, "I get your point, Mr. Rogers, but in this case, I feel that Charlotte has every right to speak about her in this way." Leo, Joey, and Evie all nodded until Cap turned around and shot us all a warning look.

Daddy chided me, "Aryaliana, surely you wouldn't agree with such disrespect! You are on thin ice with me, child. I am still debating whether to simply take you back to Asgard this moment."

"But I do agree with Charlotte in this case, sir. Perhaps we should let Charlotte explain her side of the issue," I said diplomatically.

Charlotte didn't need any more of a prompt, instead just jumping right into it. "You know _why_ we were almost killed? Because Mother Dearest sent them after me! She tried to kill me . . . AGAIN!" Sparks of fire flickered from her hands.

The adults were all in a dumbfounded silence so I used that as an opportunity to repeat in disbelief, " _Again_?"

"Yes, again," Charlotte snarled, the fire in her hands glowing brighter. "I mean, I've tried to kill her at one point but that's a whole different story. God, I hate that bitch," she muttered as a side thought.

"Young lady, watch your language. I will not have your words taint my daughter, Princess of Asgard," my father admonished, his hands on my shoulder. No one minded his comment, though. And though I had only been with her for less than a day, I knew his words fell on deaf ears. I now was attempting to piece her story together.

So, I knew the relationship with her mother was dysfunctional and just plain awful, but . . . this took it to a whole new level. They had tried to _kill_ each other? What could have possibly led to that? A whole new layer of Charlotte was unfolding before our very eyes.

Dr. Banner was the first to speak. "Um . . . maybe I should check all of you children in my office. To make sure you are all okay." He turned to Daddy and added, "If you want to take her back to Asgard, at least do it after I check on her." Daddy tersely nodded and to everybody Dr. Banner asked, "No arguments?"

"Fine by me," Charlotte said harshly, leading the way down back into the building. Joey and Evie were next, and I heard Evie whisper into his ear,

"At least we're out of the spotlight."

As if Captain America had super-hearing, or at least could read minds, he barked, "Don't think I forgot about you, Joseph Edward and Evelyn Mary."

"The middle names are out," Evie said quietly, biting back a grin. "I repeat: the middle names are out." Joey snickered.

"I can hear you, Evelyn," Captain America said, stone-cold serious.

"Dammit."

"I can _still_ hear you!"

"I'm just going to stop talking," Evie concluded, and Joey and I encouraged her decision with vigorous nods.

Leo teased, "Yeah, _Evelyn_ , maybe that would be best."

She countered as quick as a shot, "Cram it, _Leonid_."

"That was uncalled for-"

"How about you all shut up?" Charlotte threw viciously over her shoulder, and we fell silent for fear of being punched and/or burned.

Mr. Barton emphasized her point by adding, "One more word out of you, Leonid, and I _swear_ . . ." Leo gulped and remained perfectly silent.

Soon enough, we were all sitting in Dr. Banner's office as he checked us all one by one. Charlotte's hands glowed red hot periodically as she fought down her anger. Dr. Banner cleaned the blood from our faces with a tender, almost fatherly care. Evie required a butterfly stitch on her eyebrow but other than that, we were perfectly fine. Well, not Charlotte, but the rest of us.

"I prepared a room for you," he told her gently, wiping away the last of the crusted blood covering her lips. Her movements were stiff and she grimaced every so often (her back seemed to be bothering her most of all), but besides that and her swollen lip, she looked all right. "I want to check on your other wounds."

"No," she said flatly, hopping down from the table. "I'm fine. No more drugs."

"Don't you want some more for the pain?" he coaxed, a little desperate. It was his duty as a doctor to try to help her, but she was resisting.

"Charlotte, won't the medication help you? You should take it," I added helpfully. Dr. Banner gave me a grateful nod.

" _No_ ," she said more nastily this time. "I don't need any damn drugs." Leo, Joey, and Evie all scooted away from her as her eyes blazed with defiance.

Something in Dr. Banner's face changed and he said more sternly, "Charlotte, you have to accept your room and medication and allow me to help you."

"I don't have to do anything."

The doctor's patience slipped little by little and that was when a firm knock on the door startled us all. Captain America's blond head poked in and asked, "Are the kids okay? Can they come out?"

"Yes, they are all okay. Evie needed a couple stitches on her eyebrow but it will be all right. Charlotte, on the other hand-"

"Is perfectly fine," Charlotte finished with a smug look directed at Dr. Banner, leading the way outside where the rest of the Avengers were awaiting us anxiously. Jack was there now, and he engulfed Charlotte in a huge hug which she cringed out of. She mouthed to him 'I have to talk to you,' but I didn't think anybody else saw. He nodded and backed away.

Dr. Banner addressed to both my father and Tony, "Ari and Charlotte are both exhausted, though neither will admit it and I feel it would be beneficial to both of them to get some immediate rest before any potential . . . confrontation."

 _Oh, right, I can just sleep peacefully knowing my father's going to scream at me the minute I wake up. Right_ , I thought. _Well, actually, I_ am _tired_. "That would be nice," I said before I could stop myself. "Please, Daddy? I know you want to take me back to Asgard but I am dreadfully tired."

He didn't look very happy about it but he relented, "You do need rest. I will allow it."

"Hey, Charlotte, shouldn't you mention that you controlled the air and flew on your own?" Leo asked with a hint of a smirk, his eyes flashing deviously. Jack's eyebrows shot to his hairline but Charlotte waved it off.

Now, once again, all of the attention was directed towards her. Tony gasped, "You _flew_?"

Captain asked with his eyes brows knitted together in confusion, "How would you even figure that out? You were on the glider the whole time, weren't you?"

"Before or after she was surfing it?" Leo just didn't know when to keep his mouth shut; Charlotte looked about ready to murder him.

"What did I ever do to you?" she retorted savagely, and I grabbed her by her thin shoulders to ward off any potential attacks.

Dr. Banner, his eyes wide with outrage, scolded her, "That's extremely dangerous in your condition." It was extremely dangerous in _any_ condition!

Now, something happened that surprised me. Normally, Captain America was the one to knock her off her block- however politely- but something in Tony changed. I didn't know the man well at all, but I had gotten a careless and reckless vibe from him- he made the gliders for Leo in the first place! But maybe he was taking this whole father thing more seriously than I had originally thought.

He took a few steps forward, dead serious, and said softly but firmly, "Are you saying you actually surfed the glider? I mean, normally I'd think that's cool, but . . . not for you! They aren't built to withstand that-I should know. How did this air thing come into play anyway?"

If I were in her position, I would be looking anywhere but in his smolderingly angry brown eyes, but she did just that and said without shame, "I was surfing the glider and I fell off. Then I floated, so I'm _guessing_ I can control air."

I had never seen Tony look so mad-well, actually, since I told him Charlotte was his daughter. Huh, maybe this guy got mad more often than I'd given him credit for. Everyone evidently decided to give the two some space, because Dr. Banner slipped away, and Captain America and the assassins began to lead their children away.

I pretended to not get the hint so I could stay and watch the show. Thus, my daddy stayed with me, but Jack also stayed for Charlotte's benefit until she gestured for him to leave. He wandered off.

Tony hissed, "You have the nerve to surf the glider, and then _fall off_? Surfing it is bad enough, and then you have the audacity to _fall off_?"

He must have been besides himself because that was a really stupid thing to say, and Charlotte agreed with me by spitting back, "Yeah, that's it. I just decided, 'Hey, how can I make this even cooler? Oh, _I know_ , I'll fall off!' Jeez, man, it's not like I planned it."

He swerved in even closer to duck into her personal space, and it occurred to me how much taller he was than her. Now, Tony is not by any means _tall_ \- he's very average- but Charlotte was downright short. "If you hadn't been surfing it, genius, then you wouldn't have fallen off."

"If you hadn't built them, _genius_ , then I _really_ wouldn't have fallen off." She smirked at his expression and he looked about ready to throttle her. I covered a giggle with a poorly disguised cough and Daddy shook his head at me. The smile melted off my face like ice near a fire.

"Okay, smartass, do you realize that when most people fall off something, they typically don't _float_? Do you realize that you could have turned into a human splatter on the ground and I wouldn't have even been able to get to know you? Huh, smart girl?"

"Well, I _didn't_ plummet to my death and I _did_ float in midair, so what's your problem?"

Gods, she just really didn't get it, did she? Charlotte just couldn't begin to comprehend that people were concerned for her wellbeing. It just had no meaning to her. Daddy interrupted, "Perhaps you two should continue this after the girls have had some rest."

"That's a fan-fucking-tastic idea," she muttered under her breath and I elbowed her sharply in the side. Tony glared at her for a moment before beginning to lead the way to the guest rooms S.H.I.E.L.D. apparently had here.

Just before we went in, her head shot up and she exclaimed, "I have to talk to Jack!"

"Can this wait?" I asked, rubbing tiredly at my eyes.

"No." And before anybody could stop her, she took off at a run to find her best friend and I was left alone with Tony and Daddy. Tony groaned and mumbled something about making sure she didn't go jump off a building next (which she technically did do, but I didn't tell him that), and then it was just Daddy and I.

"Come, child," he said, beckoning me to follow him in the room.

"Aren't you going to let me rest?" I asked hopefully.

"It seems that whenever I don't keep a close eye on you, you slip away, so it appears that you must be constantly supervised like a small child," he said bluntly and heat rushed to my face. That hurt. He had a point, but it made me feel about two inches tall.

"Okay," I whispered, shuffling over to one of the beds, tears filling up my eyes. Normally, Daddy would jump to my rescue and apologize for making me cry, but he didn't this time. That was when I truly knew I had royally messed up and broke the trust between us.

I sat down on the bottom bunk and he towered over me. Daddy didn't take long before jumping into his lecture. "I would have hoped to wait until Asgard to lecture you, but that has been delayed and since we are alone at the moment, I might as well begin now. I honestly don't have the faintest idea what has gotten into you. You've disobeyed my orders countless times and have acted recklessly and foolishly. I understand how taxing your power has been on you but that is absolutely _no excuse_ for how abysmally you've been acting. I would like for you to tell me all of your wrongs now." His tone was calm, but strained, so I knew the moment I stepped out of line he would snap.

Tears streaming down my cheeks, I shamefully replied, "I left Asgard without permission- but I had a good reason for that!"

Fire flared up in his normally kind blue eyes and he harshly admonished, "I didn't tell you to defend yourself, I told you to list your wrongs!"

I shrunk away like a child half my age and nodded tearfully. "Yes, sir. After I left Asgard and you found me, I broke my handcuffs and made everyone freeze and ran off again-but I had a very good reason for that one-"

" _Aryaliana_. . . ."

"I'm sorry. Anyway, then after I fought Leo's parents I slipped away again and flew over New York without your permission."

Now it was his turn to talk, yet again. "Yes, you did. You have treated me with the utmost disrespect by disobeying me so blatantly and I will not stand for it any longer! This ridiculous behavior has to come to an end! With your actions, you have successfully broken the trust I had in you. I cannot begin to describe how disappointed I am in you, you could have been hurt."

That did it. Daddy had yelled, even screamed at me before and I would take it, but when he was disappointed in me. . . ? Noisy sobs escaped my lips and I buried my head into my arms. "I'm sorry," I mumbled into the crook of my elbow. "I'm so sorry."

The bed creaked and lowered next to me and he rubbed circles on my back, waiting until I calmed down. As my breathing evened out, I looked up at him and waited for what he would say next.

"I understand you're sorry, Ari. But saying you are sorry doesn't just erase everything, now does it?"

"No," I whimpered.

"Tell me the reasons behind your actions now," he ordered, his voice considerably softer now than before.

I sniffled once and quickly began my story, "I went to Midgard so my power would stop torturing me. I thought it was the only way, and it is. And the reason I ran away from you before was because I brushed against Director Fury and I saw myself in his thoughts hooked up to tubes and wires. He wants to run tests on me, Daddy."

His countenance darkened and he jumped to his feet, pacing with a brooding expression. "I won't let it happen," he finally said and a wave of relief washed over me. "It will not happen."

"Thank you."

He waited a moment before finally saying softly, "Aryaliana, you haven't been the same since you've woken up from the coma. I understand your power has been incredibly taxing, but you're my daughter and I can tell something else has been gnawing away at you. I want you to tell me what it is."

"Daddy, nothing's been bothering me besides my power," I insisted, wiping furiously at my tears.

He shook his head in disbelief, as if completely baffled that I would lie at a time like this. "Aryaliana, you don't seem to understand how well I know you. You are an open book to me. I want you to tell me what's been bothering you so deeply."

"Can you please just let it go?" I begged, using my final defense. He just had to drop the topic before it was too far to return. He didn't want to hear the knowledge I held. He just wanted to pretend that everything was perfect in our family.

"I will not bend on this."

It was time. It was time for him to know the secrets of my mother, Jane Foster. I knew it would hurt him deeply to hear it, but maybe, just _maybe_ it would help him understand how I had been feeling for so long. "Daddy, I'm really sorry. I think part of the reason I've been so . . . different lately is, well . . . Do you remember how just before I slipped into the coma, my powers activated and I lost control of them?"

Daddy said without a moment's hesitation, "Of course, love. Your mother was very nearly hurt. Though it was not your fault."

I squirmed in my seat, regretting tilting the conversation in this direction in the first place. "Before I slipped into the coma, I came into contact with Mother and . . . Daddy, she . . . . she hates me. She hates me, the idea of me, my powers, Asgard. . . ." I stared down at the ground because I couldn't stand the look in his eyes. The emotion behind the instant disbelief, the . . . the horror and realization mixed into one?

"Love, she could _never_ hate you." The doubt in his tone was almost palpable.

"But she does," I insisted, reaching forward to tentatively clutch his hand in mine. "Daddy, I can show you."

With the new branch of my power, I searched my memories for the horrible moment when I found out how my mother felt about me and inserted it into him, letting it relive it along with me. The grief and hurt and brokenness as I found out that my own mother didn't want me.

As I drew my hand away, the pain in my father's eyes broke my heart all over again. "I never knew. . . ."


	19. Chapter 10 - Part 2: Charlotte

**A/N: Hey, here's part two of chapter ten! It has some angst but also contains some father-daughter bonding :). Hope you like it! Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **Chapter 10 - Part 2: Charlotte**

I set off to find Jack with only one goal in mind. I had to protect him. Jack was standing on his own near Dr. Banner's office and I called over to him, capturing his attention.

"Double-edge!" He smiled wide and ran over to me before sobering up. "Charlotte, what's going on?"

"My mother sent men to kill me." His countenance darkened like a fire flickering out into ash.

"I can't say this surprises me," he said blackly.

"And that's why I need you to go home." I steeled myself as his eyes widened with hurt and confusion.

"What are you talking about? Double-edge, you need me here!" he pleaded.

"Jack, she's going to keep after me and after I questioned one of the guards, it became clear that she will kill you too if you stay. But if you leave, then she will let you live. So, please, I need you to go home."

I knew then that he wasn't going to let it go once his protests started up again and I knew what I had to do, however much it hurt me. "Jack, I don't _want_ you here, okay? You just remind me of that place every time I look at you. So, please, just go home."

He actually fell for that and the pain radiating off him stabbed me like a sharpened knife. And yes, I knew what that felt like. "Charlotte, we're family. You're like my sister. . . ."

This was killing me and the next part was going to push me over the edge. If I had to redo the last couple of hours, I would have gladly fallen off the glider without my air powers to save me instead of _this_ torture. But it had to be done. I couldn't look at him as I said, "Jack, I had only one brother. And he's dead. I have no family left."

The strange burning sensation returned to my eyes as his face crumpled with devastation. I swallowed the lump in my throat. That was all I did, I hurt people. And I had broken him beyond repair, I just knew it. I was positive he wouldn't ever want to talk to me after this.

"You want me to go?" He couldn't raise his voice above a whisper and I didn't trust myself to speak without breaking my resolve, so I just nodded firmly.

"Okay," he mumbled, beginning to walk backwards. "I was talking to Agent Coulson some while you were gone. I'll get him to give me a ride home. If that's what you want."

"Go back to your family, Jack," I forced out, "because . . . it's not here."

The heartbreak written all over his face was an expression that would be permanently etched into my mind for all eternity. _I caused this_ , I thought in despair. "Okay, then," he whispered as the first of tears began rolling down his face. "I'll go. I guess this is goodbye."

"Goodbye, Jack." He turned around on his heel and didn't look back and I could only watch his retreating back.

As he disappeared around the corner, I leaned against the wall and sank to the ground, heaving out a dry sob. Tears were swimming in my eyes, but I had to blink them away. I had to stay strong.

I did the right thing; I had to protect him. Jack _was_ like my brother, even if he would never replace Lucky. And though this was the first time I would ever let myself admit it, I loved him. I never admitted it before because I thought if I did, then he would be taken from me like Lucky. Like this, but permanently.

"Charlotte?" I glanced up to see Tony hovering over me. _Great, this is_ just _what I need right now. Hey, I'm down on the ground, why don't you kick me_? I thought bitterly. "What's wrong?"

 _Oh, nothing,_ I thought sarcastically. _I just broke the heart of my best friend, the one person besides my brother who was always there for me._ "Nothing. I'm fine."

He sat down next to me and eyed me scrutinously. "You know, you say that a lot. But can I tell you a secret?" He moved in closer with a playful expression and whispered in my ear, "I don't think you mean it."

Angrily, I scooted away from him and crossed my arms petulantly. "Whatever. It doesn't matter if you don't believe me, because it's true." There was no insistence in my tone; it was obvious that even I didn't believe it.

He nudged me gently on my chin to coax me to look up and I did, but the tears refused to leave my eyes and his teasing expression sombered. "Did something happen with Jack? You ran off to talk to him like there was a fire lit under you. It seemed urgent."

For once in my life, I couldn't trust myself to speak without breaking down and crying so I just nodded my head, tucking my chin away so he couldn't observe my moment of weakness. Surprising the hell out of me, he suddenly grabbed me around the shoulders and pulled me into him. Now, normally, the abrupt movement would most likely lead to violence on my part, but I was too distraught to react aggressively.

I couldn't even begin to understand why he would comfort me; he just met me and there surely couldn't be any paternal feelings on his part. But here he was, hugging me like I was his daughter. Oh, wait, I _was_ his . . .

Shame began to eat me up inside as the first of several tears slipped from my eyes. This was the first time I had cried, like, ever! _What's wrong with me_? I thought despairingly. _First I rip apart my best friend and now I go and cry about it? It's my fault_ _and I HAVE NEVER CRIED BEFORE_ , _WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!_

Thoughts were swirling around in my head like a whirlwind as the sobs racked my body. Distantly, I felt his hand stroke my hair and it kind of actually did help, however chafed and awkward the movement was.

I couldn't understand why I was crying now, and not when my brother was murdered. Probably because then I had already let the hate and anger consume me to the point where I couldn't feel anything else, but now that I was away from my mom, those feelings of sadness and grief were creeping up on me. I had never properly grieved for my brother and I was certain it would resurface inside of me soon enough.

His embrace was warm and I found myself snuggling into his arms. The only person had hugged me in a caring way was Jack and Lucky, but Lucky had been gone for three years and Jack just wasn't the same as my brother. I craved the warmth.

I honestly missed this, because it's not like my mom ever hugged me. Or pet my hair. Or ever spared a kind word or two . . . ever. Damn, this was just bringing the hate and anger back so I had to store it away for later.

Tony finally spoke and asked softly, presumably to not upset me more, "You convinced Jack to leave, didn't you?"

I sniffled and tried to regain my composure, but I was still too ashamed to meet his eyes. "I had to. I interrogated one of the guards and if he stayed with me then she would have killed him, too. I just can't stand him being in danger. At least he'll be safe now."

"How did you persuade him to leave?" he asked curiously. "The kid's practically attached to you at the hip. He's a good, like, three years older than you and he worships the ground you walk on."

Great, just great, now I wanted to start crying again. I said in a trembling voice, "I told him I didn't want him here. That there was no reason for him to stay anymore." I carefully left out the part about my dead brother.

I glanced at him for a split second to gauge his reaction and noticed that he was looking at me with something similar to awe. "So . . . you lied and pushed him away to protect him? You would rather him hate you than be hurt." The last sentence wasn't a question but I nodded anyway.

"He's never going to want to see me again after what I said," I said miserably, wiping the foreign, sticky tear tracks from my face.

"You don't know that, kid. Things change, people change. I've changed a lot over the years. Recently in fact, I was actually dying and I refused to tell anyone so they wouldn't worry and . . . yeah, that's not that similar to this, is it?"

"That sucks that you almost, uh, died."

"Yeah, that was fun. It was like a five-star resort spa treatment. Palladium poisoning and . . . you don't know what that is, do you? You know what, you just go on with your story."

I smiled weakly at his easily distracted nature and continued, "Jack's always had my back and I just stabbed him in his. Trust me, I know him. He feels betrayed and he won't want me in his life anymore." My voice cracked as I uttered the last few words but luckily, I kept the tears at bay.

"You're really brave, you know," he said almost conversationally and I laughed dryly without humor. "You are! Most people are greedy, self-obsessed assholes- some people would include me in that category, though I beg to differ- but you put his safety over your happiness. That was really brave. And selfless."

"Selfless isn't a word I would use to describe myself."

"Well, since you're spawned from me, you'd think the selfishness would have passed on- I personally don't see the selfishness in me but Cap clearly does, and other people? Oh, who am I kidding, the media loves me," he finished proudly.

Feeling rather relaxed at the moment, I toppled over gracefully onto my back and then shot up with a hiss of pain. He looked down at me with concern and murmured, "This Claire Worth . . ."

"Yeah," I said gruffly, rolling over onto my side. Sleepiness made my eyes flutter shut and I attempted in vain to get comfortable on the hard metal ground.

Tony said arily, "Hey, everything's made of metal- like the cockles of Fury's heart. . . ."

"Uh, where are you going with this?"

"Um, well, you can use me as a pillow if you want. Unless we'd like to move our lazy asses over to where the actual beds are."

I lifted my head and rested it on his thigh; it was far better than the floor. "Meh, Thor's probably talking with Ari about their severely tacky clothes and hoity toity accents and annoyingly proper speech. . . ."

I drifted off then to the sound of his snicker. For the first time in . . . ever, I went to sleep with a smile on my face.


	20. Chapter 11 - Part 1: Leo

**A/N: Hey, all, sorry about the late update! We both got our first jobs yesterday! We're only freshmen in high school so there aren't many who would hire us, but we started reffing recreational basketball! It should be pretty fun. Anyway, though, sorry again about the late update. This chapter will be split into two parts, both which will be updated today. Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks! :)**

 **P.S. Thanks sooo much for the reads, follows, favorites, and reviews! They mean so much to us and we really appreciate them! Just . . . thanks! :)**

 **Chapter 11 - Part 1: Leo**

My ears were just about bleeding after my parents were through shouting at me. They physically hurt. There was this constant ringing; about the equivalent of having a bullet fired near you. AND MY PARENTS WEREN'T EVEN DONE.

"You realize Thor could kill you for this, and truly I am tempted not to stop him," my mother growled. She was just blowing hot air, but that stung a little- even though I knew she didn't mean it.

"Mom, I was just teaching the girls how to live a little, they both have been locked away all their lives. I was showing them the world. If you think about it, I was being a good person and friend," I countered, attempting to dig himself out of the grave my parents so eagerly dug for me.

"Yeah, and if that living a little had killed you, or if it killed one of those girls, how do you think us parents would feel?" That was Dad. Always the logical one, though his hot-headedness rivaled my mother's. And mine.

"Thanks for caring about me more than two strangers, Dad," I grumped.

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "You know full well what I mean. But just think how we would feel if you had been hurt, and how Thor and Tony would have felt if Ari or Charlotte had been injured or killed."

I decided to jump in that nifty little grave they had been digging for me with a sharp little trowel, digging deeper at super-speed. "Oh please, it's not like Tony would care."

Yeah, so that was real smart. In fact, I think I should have won a Nobel Prize for that. If my parents had their weapons with them, they probably would have shot me right there and I can't say I would blame them. . . .

Dad had to contain his anger with several well-timed deep breaths (my mom was just plain stewing) before he jumped into lecturing again, " _Leonid_ . . . You can't say he doesn't care. You saw his face when he found out about Charlotte, he was blindsided. I know you see Tony as carefree but he can be responsible. Leo, don't judge people like that, you of all people should know that. I know how much you hate being underestimated."

Well, this conversation was driving right from the city of Sucksville straight to the country of Suckania. "I'm sorry, okay? I really don't know what more you want me to say." I was getting tired of their nagging.

My mom kneeled down to my level and looked at me straight in the eyes. "This isn't just about being sorry, it's about being careless. Leo, you live in a world where your life could depend on your choices and I just want you to learn now and not when something bad really does happen. You _know_ how dangerous our world can be."

"I promise to be more careful next time, but I don't promise not to flirt with Ari and Charlotte."

My dad snickered and my mom just groaned. My dad spoke first, "That's your death sentence, son, just be smart about it and don't piss off their fathers."

"Deal," I said, smiling. Both were finally relenting on the lecture so I decided if I could run now maybe they would forget to punish me. "So . . . I will be going now."

I attempted to inched past them but my mom grabbed the back of my shirt. "Nice try, little buddy, but don't think you're getting off free."

"I know," I whined, "but just consider this. Ari and Charlotte are new to this world, and God knows how screwed up Charlotte is right now. They're going to need a friend to help them _through_ this, and that friend is _me_." I was pretty proud of myself right then. I didn't usually think so deeply. "Me, guys. _Me_."

They smirked at me. "Working to be a motivational speaker, son?" Dad asked of me, amused.

I pretended to look offended. "Dad, I was _born_ with this gift. It is part of me. We are one."

Mom grabbed me by my shoulders and pushed me back onto my bed. "Well, then you won't be alone when you're grounded."

I gaped at her. That traitor. "Mom, that was just plain cruel. Knives. In. My. Heart."

My masterful plan _didn't work_! They were smiling, sure, but that did absolutely NOTHING for me because they moseyed it on out. "Sit tight, Leo. We'll work out your punishment."

 _Oh gee whiz, guys, thanks_ , I so desperately wanted to say, but I wasn't _that_ dumb. They shut the door and I was alone with my gift of motivational speaking. "Hey, so, want to, like, cheer me up?" I asked the gift. The gift didn't respond. I knocked at my chest but I just wasn't feeling the magic anymore. Maybe it came in bursts.

Sighing, I stretched out on my bed and grabbed a handful of darts from my bedside table, throwing them across the room to perfectly hit the bullseye of my target. Ugh, that game grew so boring a long time ago after I learned to fire a _real_ arrow.

This majorly sucked. Nobody was here to entertain me and I had absolutely _no_ idea what was happening with Ari and Charlotte. Or Joey and Evelyn. My parents were stern and all, but _nobody_ could reach Cap's level of strictness. My heart ached for them.

"I don't wanna be . . . _alllll byyyyy myyyyyseeeellllff_!" I sang as loudly as I could just to pierce the lonely silence. But then it was quiet again. Damn.

A thought then occurred to me. I was already pouring gasoline all over myself with today's actions, why not light the match? But that would be just plain dumb, and I may have been doing some reckless things that day, but I wasn't _that_ stupid. Ugh, gross. Obedience was _so_ not my color.

I shut my eyes and settled in for a nap while my parents debated my inevitable doom downstairs. _Sweet dreams, Leo!_

I had a strong feeling that this was only the beginning of the madness. . . .


	21. Chapter 11 - Part 2: Aryaliana

**A/N: Hey, so here's the second part of this chapter! Bit of a cliffy at the end, sorry about that . . . sorta. *Evil smile* Please read, review, and enjoy! :)**

 **Chapter 11 - Part 2: Aryaliana**

My father could have very well been a statue of himself with how little he had been moving for the past minute. I honestly feared for his health. "Daddy, are you okay?" He didn't answer- his expression was blank, but his eyes displayed his anguish.

I gingerly touched his arm. "Daddy?" His muscles were as hard as stone, and just as tense. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you . . . showed you."

He finally turned to face me. "No, love, I needed to know this. The truth always comes out. I believe I must return to Asgard for a brief time. I need to confront your mother."

A part of me soared inside; about time! But he looked so miserable about it that the intense bout of happiness was short-lived. "Daddy, you don't have to-"

He stroked my hair and I leaned against his chest. "Yes, I do. I trust you will be safe here if I leave you with Cap, perhaps. Will you be okay?"

"Yes, Daddy, I'll be fine." He kissed the crown of my head and we walked out of the room together. I almost forgot why I had gone there in the first place when I remembered that I was rather sleepy. Well, I got no sleep _at all_.

We walked out together, his hand resting comfortably on my right shoulder. He seemed so distant. I knew he was feeling dread toward confronting the woman who called herself my mother, but I didn't want it to affect _our_ relationship.

Guilt filled me when I looked into his eyes. He loved Jane and he loved me but I was making him choose between the two of us. "Dad, you truly don't have to confront her. You don't need to do that for me. You love her, you love being married to her. I don't want to-"

Before I could finish, Mr. Stark strutted around the corner of the corridor and nearly ran into my father. Upon observing Daddy's solemn expression, he teased, "And who will the big bad god be confronting?"

Ignoring his jabs, my father questioned, "Do you know where Captain went?"

"Sorry, big guy, Captain Buzzkill left for home with his kids a while ago. Can I help you two with anything?" Mr. Stark asked and I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not with his last statement. I had a slight suspicion that he was.

I stepped in before my dad could say something he would regret toward the man who could possibly save me from myself (Tony just seemed like the kind of person to hold petty grudges). "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me look into my gift."

"Charlotte is resting so I don't see why that would be a problem. Well, unless Mr. Overprotective doesn't want me to," Tony taunted. My gods, he was such a man child.

I looked to my father with pleading eyes. He knew how much I wanted to control whatever was happening to me. He knew how much I needed this.

"Ari, I know you want help but you need to rest. I will find another way to get you to Captain," he shot me down, essentially crushing my dreams. _Thanks, Daddy, how helpful of you,_ I thought bitterly.

"She can stay with me! I mean, I clearly have plenty of room. That way Charlotte has someone she sorta knows and I can help her. It's a win-win," Tony said with a giddy smile. I vaguely wondered how he'd look if someone just rewarded him with a cookie or the like for his remarks. He'd probably be the happiest little boy in all the realms. . . . I inwardly smirked as I imagined it.

The way Tony looked at me was more like I was a fascinating specimen in a science experiment rather than an, well, Asgardian princess. It was odd and frankly a little disconcerting, but if it got me what I needed, I vowed to suck it up and deal with it.

"Tony, I mean no disrespect. Yes, never mind actually, I do mean disrespect. I don't trust you near my daughter. Ever since she came to this planet she has been put in imminent danger and last thing I need is you adding to that." Thor smirked after he finished. He looked proud to insult the man who constantly cracked jokes about every other human he crossed paths with. It must have been savory.

"Daddy, _please_. I would like to spend time with Charlotte. And I know how you think. You don't want me to stay with Mr. Barton and Mrs. Romanoff because you believe Leo is a bad influence on me, so why would you want me to stay with Cap, wouldn't Joey and Evie be bad influences as well?" That one was a _long_ shot but I desperately hoped that Daddy already knew them from past experiences and agreed.

Doubt shadowed across his features. "I suppose so, yes . . . but young Charlotte isn't a good influence either-"

Tony's lighthearted, cheerful attitude froze over after he said that- and rightfully so, to be honest. That was rude and a little uncalled for- well, not uncalled for, but still mean. "Hey, godly ass, too far. That girl's been through a hell of a lot and that's only of what we currently know of. It probably goes _far_ deeper than that so I'd appreciate it if you didn't throw _my daughter_ under the bus."

I could have squealed out of happiness. A moment of a paternal maturity! It was a miracle! And luckily, not only did that knock Daddy down a few pegs, but it actually showed him that maybe Tony wasn't the worst option to watch his child. "I apologize for that. I suppose if you promise to keep Ari away from Fury and keep her safe, then you could watch her for a very short while."

Tony's eyebrows crinkled together. "I get Fury's just a real downer to be around but . . . ?"

"Just keep my daughter away from him, you understand me?"

He blinked in surprise but then nodded. "Uh . . . yeah, sure, that's fine. It's not like I go out of my way to spend time with the guy."

Daddy nodded firmly and leaned down to kiss me on my head to signify his goodbye. "I must go, child. Are you certain you will be okay?"

"Yes, I'll be _fine_ , like I told you," I replied, working to keep the irritation out of my voice. Might I add that I failed dismally?

He shot me a warning look and then patted Stark on the shoulder once. "Take care of her or you will live to regret it." And with that, he was gone.

Tony rocked onto his heels awkwardly. "Well, he's downright pleasant." I smiled sheepishly. My daddy was obnoxiously overprotective but I wouldn't apologize for his behavior because I knew perfectly well that he wasn't going to change.

"Wait, where's Charlotte?" It just struck me that she was absent. Did Tony just leave her, wherever she was?

He waved it off. "Oh relax, she's sleeping. I'll go check on her. Wanna come?" I followed him loyally as he hurried back to where he left her sleeping.

She looked so small, curled up in a little ball with her light blonde hair splayed all over the place. She looked so _young_. And . . . awfully feverish.

I picked up my pace and as she came closer into view, I noticed with concern that her face was paler and sweatier than before, and she was shivering. This was how she looked before she collapsed. She was crashing.

"Tony," I cried, beckoning for him to hurry up. "Tony, she doesn't look good!" I kneeled down by her head, hovering my hand over her forehead. Her eyes were rolling around beneath their lids and her face contorting. She was having a nightmare. . . .

Tony skidded to a stop next to her and lay the back of his hand against her forehead, wincing slightly. "Crap, crap, crap, she's burning up! This is so . . . strange, she wasn't like this five minutes ago!"

I was having an internal war with myself. Maybe it would be helpful if I could wake her up from her dream, but what if it only made it worse? As she lurched backwards with a shout of pain, I, without thinking, grabbed her by her wrist and was violently sucked into her dream.

Everything was blurry; silvery, metal walls surrounded me, suffocated me. I glanced down only to see a whole different set of clothes: a black tank top and military cargo pants. I was in Charlotte's consciousness.

Suddenly, an implement rained down onto my back, leaving a streak of fiery agony. I screamed as I felt warm blood trickle down the back of my shirt and before I could recover, another lash came, then another.

 _Get me out, get me out, get me out!_ I begged silently as the excruciating pain only continued. _Make it stop!_

Something that deeply surprised me is that while Charlotte occasionally yelped and shouted, her eyes were utterly dry. She wasn't crying.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, I forced all my concentration into ripping myself out of the dream, and my body went tumbling backwards. Charlotte was still trapped in the nightmare, and I dabbed at my cheeks to find them stained wet with tears. Tony was staring at the two of us in panic, not sure of what just took place.

"Charlotte, wake up, wake up!" I pleaded with her, Tony echoing me just as fiercely. Something in her figure changed, tensed, like she was beginning to fight back. Maybe she was, in what I assumed was a memory- a recent one, at that, with how fresh it felt.

I tentatively touched her shoulder and, before I could defend myself, Charlotte came hurtling at me like a wild animal. Before I knew what was happening, she had me pinned to the ground with her forearm barred against my throat. I couldn't breathe!

Her eyes were firmly shut- she was still in the dream. I frantically struggled beneath her, black spots dancing before my eyes, as Tony wrapped his arm around her waist and yanked her off me. Sitting up, I welcomed the air that my lungs could now take in. _What was THAT?_ I thought, rubbing my abused throat.

Tony shook her by her shoulders, ordering, "Charlotte, you have to wake up!" Her eyelids snapped open, and for a split second, there was a terrifying, rabid look of sheer fury and hatred before her eyes cleared up.

Tony still had a vice grip on her to make sure she didn't attack me again. I only felt pity for the poor girl. The agony I suffered inside of her dream was now completely gone, but she had to still be feeling the effects because it actually _happened_ to her. I was beginning to understand how horrible her mother really was. "Charlotte? Charlotte, you're okay now. You're awake. That's not happening anymore."

"What happened?" Tony hissed as she tried to break away from him. Her face was deathly white and her breath was coming in uneven, ragged gasps. It wasn't just the nightmare that had been ailing her before. No, she was _crashing_.

Worry evident in his features, Tony pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket and rapidly tapped something in. He pressed it against his ear as Charlotte freed herself from his grasp, collapsing onto the hard metal ground. "Bruce? Bruce, I need you. We're down the hall from your office. Straight, take a right, then a left. Something's wrong with Charlotte, you need to hurry. What's wrong? Her fever spiked, her heart's racing-"

Charlotte stiffened up once more and an ominous feeling washed over me. "Tony, what's wrong?" I demanded of him. She hadn't looked this bad, even before!  
He ignored me and kept firing off explanations into the phone. "Bruce, take the medical kit and hurry up, something's happening-"

Right then, Charlotte's limbs jerked to the side, then back again, then back _again_. Her body wriggled, her neck whipped around, she flailed. . . . "Oh gods, what's wrong with her? _What's happening_?" I shrieked, reaching forward to hold her down. Tony, stricken, held up a hand to keep me away from her.

" _Bruce, hurry your ass up NOW_! Charlotte . . . she's seizing. _Bruce, she's having a seizure_!"


	22. Chapter 12 - Part 1: Charlotte

**A/N: S'up, terrific people of this world! Sorry about the late update, again. We really hope this chapter will make up for it. This first part isn't very long, but it's very intense and the second part will be updated soon enough.**

 **Now, here's a bit of a warning. This might be somewhat of a trigger warning, because it contains Charlotte's complete mental breakdown and some serious emotional abuse that isn't real (you'll get what we mean). I (Goldie) put my everything into this chapter, so we really hope you like it! Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 12 - Part 1: Charlotte**

It had been a pleasant slumber while I was resting on Tony's leg. No dreams, just _sleep_. Vaguely, though, I felt him shift me to the ground as he left and that was when my nightmare reared its ugly head.

It was a memory of only a few days before, my mother was beating me all over again. The agony was so real, so fresh, I was _reliving_ all of it. The excruciating pain, the salty smell of the blood, the taste of bile in my mouth, the pounding in my head as I struggled to intake oxygen, the horrible lashing noises that sounded over and over and over. . . .

Was this what hell felt like? Far, far away, a hand grasped my wrist and _everything_ changed. It was like I was being _possessed_. A whole different consciousness flooded into me and my mind felt stretched and my body tight, like I was being shifted over to make room for someone else.

There was yelling, but I couldn't hear the _words_. The pain, it overwhelmed my senses to the point where it was the _only_ thing I could focus on.

Suddenly, the different, invading consciousness broke free of me and a distinct feel of relief coursed through me, but also dread. Now I was alone, and had to face this with no support. Like always.

A distorted, faint voice yelled, "Charlotte, wake up, wake up!" and my dream fast-forwarded. The beating was finished and now I was viciously attacking my mother, fighting her with everything in me. I was _winning_ until . . .

A gentle hand came into contact with my shoulder. Who was that? Ari . . . ? No, no, Ari wasn't here. It . . . it was my mother. She was trying to defeat me in every way she knew how. Yes, that was it.

I wasn't going to let her do that, I wouldn't let her best me. Just as her thin lips curled up into a twisted smirk, I lunged for her. She was useless against me; I had her pinned underneath me in record time. But something was confusing me. She wasn't trying to hurt me back- why wasn't she throwing me off? Mother would have done that. . . .

Her pale, fluorescent blonde hair flickered for a moment to reveal a fiery red glow. But no, that didn't make any _sense_. She was _blonde_ , like me, not red-haired. Not like Ari. . . .

An arm wrapped itself around my waist and pulled me back. I knew who it was. It was Lucky, it had to be. He always wanted the best for me. "Charlotte, let go," his honey-like voice whispered into my ear. "She's not worth it, she's never been worth it."

I wanted to scream, "But she _killed_ you!" but I couldn't muster up the voice.

I looked up into his warm, caring blue eyes and watched him croon, "I love you, I always have, always will, but Charlotte, you have to wake up!"

Something about his voice changed in his last statement, it grew deeper, less calm, more panicked. And his soft blond flop of hair darkened and shortened, and his eyes turned a rich, deep brown.

He was shaking me to the point where my teeth were rattling, but I still saw _her_. My mother was standing there, unscathed, a cruel smile playing at her lips. "Luck always runs out," she sang and I saw Lucky standing beside her for a brief second before he disappeared again.

 _Luck always runs out_. Lucky. . . . My mother faded into an invisible mist and Ari took her place. "Charlotte? Charlotte, you're okay now. You're awake. That's not happening anymore."

I may have not been asleep anymore, but I sure as hell wasn't by any means coherent. The dark-haired man who I recognized as Tony yelled something but I couldn't make it out, I was too busy flailing out of his grip.

There was this light, a blinding light. My brother stood in the midst of it, the whiteness around him making him appear as an angel. Lucky the angel.

"Charlotte, just let go," he soothed, holding out a hand for me to take. But it was so far _away_. "Come with me, sister. Come with me and you won't ever have to feel the pain again. There will be no more hurt, no more grief, no more hate, no more darkness. Just _freedom_. Come . . . join me."

A nagging thought itching at the back of my mind told me that the _real_ Lucky wouldn't be telling me this, the _real_ Lucky would be begging me to stay strong, urging me on, giving me courage to stand up and face the world.

There were voices shouting and I caught the word "Bruce," but those voices weren't _real_. They couldn't be, Lucky . . . _Lucky_ was real.

He was my older brother, my protector, who gladly gave his life to save me. . . . My mother appeared beside him in a swirl of blackness, a vivid contrast against the angelic form of my brother. "You're pathetic, child," the soft melody of her voice wisped its way into my ears, "your brother died _because_ of you. If it weren't for you, he'd be alive, child. . . . _He'd be alive_ , and you would be dead, and that's the way it was meant to be. . . ."

My limbs stiffened up and spasmed and I realized with a shock that I couldn't control my own body anymore. _Good_ , I thought maliciously. _I deserve this_. Then all thoughts left me- I was incapable of forming anymore.

But the illusions refused to leave me be, no, they floated above me, their blonde hair mingling as one. "Just give up, child," the woman begged of me. "It should have been _you_. You don't deserve life. . . ."

My head snapped back and I wanted to shout out my hurt but I couldn't control my voice. Everything, _everything_ was out of my control.

A new figure emerged and my last ounce of cognitive ability told me it was Dr. Bruce Banner, but it was too late. My sight failed me and everything went black.

The voices, though, the _voices_ were still with me. "It's silly how you think you have any chance at redemption. I've trained you to be ruthless, without mercy, and I've trained you _so well_. . . . Like how you murdered," her voice toyed with the word like it was a melting cube of sugar delighting her tongue, "your own brother."

My mother hovered above me, a sick pleasure glimmering in her eyes. She reached down to stroke her satin-y yet deadly fingers against my cheek and fire exploded from my hands in an attempt to protect myself from her. But it was weak, half-hearted.

She already broke me.

My mother actually _laughed_ , laughed as I self-destructed. "You're a _murderer_ , a cold-blooded _killer_. I've heard you say it, that you don't want to be an assassin, that I can't make you, well . . . _it's too late_."

The illusion, the hallucination, the manifestation of my inner demons, _whatever the hell it was_ , drove me to what was probably the darkest point I've ever reached in my entire life. I wanted to _die_.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I struck the air and my hand slipped right through her gaseous form, but she was still _there,_ cackling at my attempts to exorcise myself of her.

Reality pierced through my walls of hell for a brief moment. "Is she talking to us?" Was that Ari? I couldn't tell anymore.

"I think she's hallucinating," someone grunted, one of the men. "Hold her down! No, Ari, don't get too close, she'll hurt you! Someone's gotta put the damn fire out!" That was Tony.

Then their voices faded away, leaving me alone with my relentless demon. "You're causing trouble, child, for _everybody._ " She curled back her lips to reveal pointed daggers of teeth. "Why won't you just _die_?"'

My mother just didn't get it, did she? At this point, I _welcomed_ death. I was ready to give up every fiber of determination, bravery, and faith just to end this suffering.

I was ready to let go of my soul.

But that was when my brother's voice swooped in to save me, "Charlotte, don't listen to her. She's wrong, she's evil, she always has been! All she wants is to see you suffer, to see you _lose_! She wants you to _submit_ and you can't let her win!"

Just as he was beginning to restore my hope, almost allowing me to see the light again, my mother hissed, "Child, Lucas's words mean nothing! He's dead, he's gone! You of all people should know this, you _killed_ him!"

Lucky really came into focus then, it was like I truly saw him for the first time in three years. "Charlotte, you're my baby sister and it's my job to _protect_ you! You didn't kill me! Don't even think for a split second that you had _any_ role in my death. _She_ sent me to my death out of spite, to teach us both a lesson because she didn't want me defending you. Well, that's too damn bad because I'll _always_ defend you."

If only this was real, if he was _really_ saying this to me. Maybe this was real, maybe he found his way back to me to protect me again. Maybe he was my guardian angel. I just didn't know.

My mother advanced on me, but Lucky firmly held her back, shoving her backwards to keep her away from me. "No, you're not going to touch her ever again!" he bellowed.

He then turned back to me, and I swear, his bright blue eyes saw straight through to my soul. "Baby, everything's going to be okay. I know I said that before I died, but it still _can_ be. You've got to promise me this, Charlotte, you've got to promise me that you'll never let the darkness take you over, you'll never lose sight of who you are, and you'll never lose _hope_."

I didn't even know if I could promise him this, if I could follow through, but I would do _anything_ for Lucky. So, I found my lips uttering the words, "I promise, Lucky." And I meant it. I really meant it.

My mother was growing in power and trying to reach me, to end me, so Lucky had to keep her at bay. "Don't listen to him, daughter! Luck _always_ runs out! Listen to me and just _die_! Do the world a favor and _die_!"

Her words held much fervor and I was captivated, entranced in her web of hate. _Maybe I should listen to her_ , I thought, losing hope once more.

Just then, I felt a hand clasp onto my shoulder and Ari joined me in my mental prison. She stuck out her hand to me. "Charlotte, come with me. I'll take you out of here. Just grab my hand!"

I hesitated- Lucky was fighting for me, again, I couldn't just leave him. But in the midst of his battle, he shouted over to me, his eyes gleaming with the unconditional love he had for me, "Charlotte, take her hand, save yourself! I sacrificed myself so you could live, so _please_ , you need to grab her hand. You need to _live_ , do it for me, baby! Do it for _me_!"

"I'll do anything for you," I said tearfully and _dammit,_ I held onto Ari's hand with all my might. The last thing I saw was Lucky smiling at me.

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Do you think Lucky was a hallucination or his spirit came back to protect his little sister? Maybe a bit of both? Tell us what you think!**


	23. Chapter 12 - Part 2: Aryaliana

**A/N: Okay, first off, we're soooo sorry for the uncharacteristically late update. Just . . . so sorry. It's been a struggle for us to keep up with weekly updates so it sometimes might be a little later than that, but this is too long for us. The only excuse we have is that the schoolwork has been piling up as we near first semester finals. But we're both on Christmas break, so we should have more time to write! This part of the chapter is quite long, so we hope it at least begins to make up for our lateness. Thank you so much for the reads, favorites, follows, and reviews- they mean so much to us! Please read, review, and enjoy! Thank yoooooou! :)**

 **P.S. Happy holidays everyone! We hope you have a fantastic time! :D**

 **Chapter 12 - Part 2: Aryaliana**

My heartbeat was off the charts as Tony attempted to keep Charlotte's movements still. "Dammit, Bruce, hurry up!" he yelled across the hall just as Bruce turned the corner. His words seemed to ignite Charlotte's hands as they flamed and torched Tony's shoulder.

"Aw, shit!" Tony yelped in pain, rolling out of the way just as Bruce came racing over to us. He nearly ran straight into the tower flames and had to dodge at the last second. "Bruce, things just got a lot more complicated," Tony hissed, delicately probing at the singed fabric and blistered skin of his shoulder and upper arm.

It was like Charlotte was terrified, furious, and broken at the same time and her fire only grew to reflect these raging emotions. I coughed from smoke inhalation and had to duck away from a particularly nasty surge of fire. The radiation of heat made the skin of my face feel stretched and parched.

"How long has she been seizing for?" Bruce demanded, attempting to move to Charlotte's side but barred off by the tendrils of flame. It was incredibly bizarre, it was like her body was defending itself while she was trapped in her mind.

Attempting to place my growing fear aside, I explained hoarsely (the smoke was rather overwhelming), "A minute or two, maybe? Maybe more? How long does this _last_?" My voice shrilly cracked on the final word.

"Can't know for sure," Bruce said tersely, none too gently pushing Tony and I out of the way as another stream of fire rippled out.

I felt so useless watching the two scramble around trying to help her without being turned into ashes. I wanted to _help_ , so, so much.

Looking up to the ceiling, I made a silent plea to my ancestors to help my new friend. She was so young and her life had been plagued with so much suffering and agony. Charlotte had so much to learn and so much to give back to the world and I knew deep down that this wasn't her time but as I watched her body shake and sweat drip off her face, I questioned the universe. A universe so cruel as to take such a young, innocent, promising life would be a universe without hope of saving.

Breaking me out of my thoughts, Bruce pulled out a lengthy needle out of his bag and prepped it. "I've got diazepam, better injected with an I.V., but the shot will work. This should make it stop." He lowered to his knees and ordered Tony and I, "You two, try to hold her down." _Finally, I can help!_

"The fire makes it difficult," Tony grumbled but he did what Bruce asked without _too_ much trouble. He signalled for me to help him hold down her jerky legs and we each held a side, me holding a place where fabric covered her skin so I couldn't fall into her subconscious. Bruce jabbed the needle inside.

It would have been _far_ too easy if that were just the end of it. Life just loved pulling little tricks on us. Charlotte's eyes snapped open as wide as they could go and she shouted, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The three of us exchanged looks of confusion and horror. It was like she wasn't even _looking_ at us, her eyes were blank and empty and _so far away_. "Is she talking to us?" I squeaked, but I virtually knew the answer to my own question.

"I think she's hallucinating," Tony replied, fright writing itself across his ashen face. Charlotte's spasms started up again and as I reached forward to pin down her sparking hands, Tony addressed to Bruce, "Hold her down!" then to me, "No, Ari, don't get too close, she'll hurt you! Someone's gotta put the damn fire out!"

As a small bout of luck in this _extremely_ unlucky turn of events, several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents came barreling down the hall with these strange red objects with black nozzles. "Tony, what are those?" I murmured.

"Fire extinguishers," he whispered back and I watched in fascination as the red objects spewed a frothy white substance that gradually put the fire out. In synchronization with the waning of her fire, Charlotte's erratic movements ceased.

Relief allowed my lungs to breathe again. "Thank the gods."

"It isn't over yet," Tony said with uncharacteristic grimness. "The seizure may be over but I think she's still hallucinating."

Bruce lay his hand the back of his hand against her forehead. "She's still burning up. We need to get her back to a medical room I prepared for her earlier, hook her up to an I.V."

Charlotte was curled in on herself now, rocking back and forth like a young child with her head buried in her arms. Her distress echoed off her in waves.

"I think she's having some sort of mental breakdown," Bruce said thoughtfully and that was when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents completed their strenuous task and surrounded us.

"What's wrong with the kid?" one of them asked callously, like he didn't really care all that much. Tony looked ready to deck him so I took it upon myself to rectify the situation.

Yes, I was already exhausted from entering Charlotte's dream before and the events that followed after, but these agents _had to leave_. Thankfully, there were only three of them so I unceremoniously grabbed them by their necks and pulled them in.

The flow of information was immediate but I tried to set up a mental barricade to block it. It didn't always work, and it worked better with only certain objects or people, but it worked well enough. When I adjusted my hands to be touching the three of them (who were too shocked to struggle properly) I said with as much intensity as I could sum up, "Leave us _alone_."

They didn't need to be told twice, instead hobbling away like kicked little fluffy animals. "Thanks for that," Tony told me earnestly and I collapsed to my knees, now considerably drained.

Something was terribly, terribly wrong with Charlotte. Even more so now than before, when she was seizing. There was this look in her eyes as she just barely lifted her head, a look I would never in my lifetime forget. The way I would only _begin_ to describe it would be . . . haunted. Like she was being damaged right down to the soul.

The breath audibly caught in all three of our throats. This had to end, we couldn't let her carry on like this. This . . . she was being tortured. "I would like to help her. It is a long shot but I think I can reach into her mind and bring her back. There are so many things I can do with my gift and what use is it if I can't help those whom I care for?" I pleaded with the two men. Charlotte just appeared so . . . shattered, and I feared that if we gave it more time, then she couldn't be repaired.

"Ari, I don't think it is a good idea. We don't understand your gift yet and we don't know if I would hurt you or her. Please just let me handle it," Bruce said softly, again using medical tools I had never seen before to examine Charlotte.

Tony looked from me to Charlotte and back again, taking a long, shuddering breath. "Do it. She's . . . _my_ daughter. I can't stand to see her like this. I don't want her to leave before I could get to know her."

I rose to my feet and gave Tony a small nod. Bruce stepped out of my way reluctantly and moved over to Tony. Both men could only watch as I lowered to Charlotte's side and took in a deep breath. Closing my eyes I placed my hand onto her shoulder and slowly pushed my mind into hers, barely feeling my body crumple to the floor.

At first, all I could see was darkness. It was stifling, suffocating and I felt like I was drowning. Then it hit me like waves crash against the seashore: relentlessly.

Such emotions: indescribable love of the highest, most potent degree; hate that was nearly as powerful but not quite, the love won over; anger that was so deep-rooted it seemed unshakable; pain, sadness, and grief so deep that I wanted to just curl up in a ball and never move again for all eternity- all of this present at once. These feelings were bonded together, not one able to function without the other. They were so many, yet they were one.

The visual aspects of her hallucinations came next- I only had a few seconds to absorb it all. Two figures sharpened into vibrant focus. Each was special and held onto so much of her thoughts and memories in distinctive ways. And . . . they were _fighting_ each other- viciously!

There was no mistaking the physical similarities they shared with Charlotte, and upon further observation, I realized that the blonde woman was Charlotte's mother (I saw a brief glimpse of her by forcing my way into a guard's memory after they attacked us in Leo's meadow.)

The second figure, though, was a very handsome young man- perhaps around fourteen, maybe a little older. His shaggy, ruffled blond hair was the same shade as Charlotte and her mother's but his piercing blue eyes were a stark contrast to Charlotte's dark brown ones. Even his skin was the same hue as Charlotte's, the milky, ghostly white, like it had never come into contact with the sun.

They looked so much alike, they just had to be related. Could he be her brother? But that didn't make sense, she didn't even give the slightest hint that she had one.

He was fighting the woman with everything in him, his muscles rippling beneath his military-style clothes. He was good-looking, yes, but he wasn't what I was here for.

Where was she . . . _Charlotte_. There she was, cowered away in the towering shadows of the warriors that battled before her. Running to her as fast as I could, I reached out my hand for her to take. "Charlotte, come with me. I'll take you out of here. Just grab my hand!"

Doubt shone from her eyes and I tilted my head to the side, bewildered. Did she not _want_ to leave? The teenage boy, holding back Charlotte's mother, yelled to Charlotte her, "Charlotte, take her hand, save yourself! I sacrificed myself so you could live, so _please_ , you need to do grab her hand. You need to _live_ , do it for me, baby! Do it for _me_!"

Whoever this boy was, he had one beautiful heart, and a pure soul. I knew then that the love that first struck me upon entering Charlotte's psyche was the love they shared for each other. The way they she looked at him, with such admiration and adoration and trust, while he viewed her with similar tenderness, protectiveness, and affection. He had to be her older brother.

Tears glimmering in her eyes, Charlotte cried, "I'll do anything for you," and she took my hand. Concentrating as hard as I could, I ripped her out of her hallucination and back into reality.

I collapsed onto the now scorched metal floor and Charlotte toppled over next to me. As Bruce and Tony darted over, I panted, "I got her out, she's okay now, I got her out."

If I was tired before, it was nothing to how I felt _now_. I could barely lift my head up to see the two men gently prop Charlotte up. However, I did notice an ominous sign: thick purple veins began appearing all over me. I needed to rest _badly_.

"Charlotte, are you okay?" Bruce interrogated, full-on doctor mode. She didn't answer and he repeated the question, but the result was the same. "I think she's too traumatized to speak," Bruce said as quietly as he could to Tony, but I overheard all the same.

Charlotte's raw emotions still hung around me like a brand burned into my memory. I kept seeing the scene flash before my eyes.

Another thing that confused me deeply was why Charlotte's mother was fighting her . . . brother. He had to be her brother. . . .

I knew her mother was cruel and abusive (though I was vague on that) but I didn't fully grasp how twisted she truly was. How could any person be as _inhuman_ as to attack an innocent child? From what I had learned through education in my world, humans were one of the most levelheaded beings in all the realms, so this had to be defying all standards. It _had_ to be.

My weakened trance was broken when a rough hand shook my shoulder. Fluttering my eyes into focus, Mr. Banner's face came into clear view. "Ari, we don't need you down, too. We don't need another purple vein incident. Stay awake, please," he urged. He smiled slightly when he realized I was coming to.

"Is she okay?" I coughed. She was laying still on the ground but neither male appeared _too_ worried. "Don't tell me I saved her for nothing."

With a sigh that only began to display his fatigue, he answered, "I can't say for sure until I can properly check her. Her fever's still higher than I would like, but nothing like before. Her pulse is steady and she's no longer seizing or hallucinating."

"The worst is over," Tony explained, slumping against the wall next to Charlotte, wiping sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. "We're in the clear . . . I hope. We can't take much more." He was speaking for all four of us.

"I will be all right as long as she is all right. Don't worry about me, my father would end your planet if I were to die and I couldn't let that happen, could I?" I joked, attempting to do what humans call _lightening the mood_.

My comment got the two of them to at least smile and I was happy to help even the slightest bit. This little . . . incident, in a way, possibly could have bonded us together. I felt closer to both men now, at least more so than before. We would all share this absolutely terrifying memory.

"Let's take her to one of the med rooms and hook her up to an I.V.," Bruce suggested and the two of them, without much difficulty, lifted up Charlotte's limp form and began the trek down the hall.

More than anything, though, this experience had allowed me to understand Charlotte so much better. On the outside, she was cocky and sharp-tongued, impudent and hot-tempered, but most of all, she was _hurting_.

Charlotte had rubbed us all the wrong way in _several_ occasions so far, including me. With the knowledge I now carried, though, I viewed it more that she was lashing out like a wounded animal.

Sure, I had only known her for a brief time, just like everyone else. But upon recollecting our limited exchanges, it was like she was screaming for help the entire time and nobody could hear her. Maybe that's what led to this. Nobody knew the circumstances of how she wound up in Central Park because she pointedly refused to answer any such questions. We shouldn't have given up so easily, or maybe this wouldn't have happened.

I soon entered the med room where Charlotte was now laid gently on the table and connected to her IV. Bruce was checking her vitals, and her eyes remained open and dazed.

I was still very drained from looking into her mind so I just slid down the wall and sat on the floor. I was nearly falling asleep when Tony plopped down next to me.

He looked at me with equally tired eyes and smiled warmly. Looking forward at Charlotte and Bruce, he said to me, "Thank you . . . thank you for saving Charlotte. Thank you for making sure that . . . my daughter and I can still have a relationship. That it didn't end before it started."

That was enough thanks to last a lifetime. That one broken little girl could have a parent who wouldn't hurt her anymore. This was what made it all worth it. "No reason for thanking me. I simply did what my ability allowed me to do . . . I don't even know what to call it."

Looking at me deep in the eyes, he said strongly, "Ari, today your ability was a miracle."

That struck me, for some reason, bringing tears to my eyes. Nobody had ever told me that before. I always thought my ability was a hindrance at best, a deadly weapon at worst. But a miracle? It wasn't even in my wildest of dreams. "T-thank you."

He genuinely laughed at me. "So, let me get this straight. I thank you for saving my daughter, and that's not okay, but you thank me for giving you an extremely accurate compliment. That's a double standard right there."

I giggled along with him and that was when an already bad situation got even worse. You know when there's an absolutely horrendous hurricane, and you manage to sail your way to the eye of the storm and then there's a lull of calm? That was Charlotte's mental breakdown and the period after- the _now_.

But then the ship keeps on trekking forward and reaches the border of the eye, and then the storm rages on with _fury_.

Director Fury entered the room with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on each side of him. "Stark, your daughter's caused quite a scene out there."

My mouth dropped open at his disrespect and Stark abruptly got to his feet. "That's none of your damn business, Fury. Stay out of it."

Bruce glanced back as Fury threateningly entered the room, positioning himself protectively in front of Charlotte. "It is my damn business, Stark. She burned up the hall, and she could have killed someone. She's a threat and she needs to be _dealt_ with." I scrambled to my feet to add another level of protection for Charlotte but then Fury zeroed in on me before Tony could argue. "And you. We caught you on video as well, with your little _mind magic._ You're just as much of a threat as Blondie over there. We don't need another Loki around here."

The mention of my uncle's name brought a grimace to my face. "I'm not anything like him, but I _appreciate_ your concern," I spat sarcastically.

"Get. Out," Tony warned Fury and his men through ground teeth. They did no such thing. _Idiots._

"Ari, get behind me," Bruce hissed over to me and I gladly obeyed, using wall for support. My body was so tired but, I had to try to not show it, otherwise it would give them an advantage. Meanwhile, Charlotte watched the scene before us with casual interest and I realized though she wasn't speaking, she most certainly knew what was going on.

I noticed Bruce discreetly pull out his cell phone and type in a simple message to who I dearly hoped were the Avengers.

"They are threats to S.H.I.E.L.D. and you know how we deal with threats, Stark, Banner," Fury growled. I instinctively moved closer to Charlotte, and away from the men. Charlotte's eyebrow arched as the words spewed from Fury's mouth.

Tony placed himself in front of them, barring their way to us. "Do I look like I give two craps? No, I don't, thanks for asking. All I know is that you're going to leave or I'm going to make you. That, my friend, is _inevitable_."

"Stark, this is my building and my room and as far as I'm concerned, you aren't my damn boss. So, get out of my way or I will apprehend you and take these kids by force!" That was when the agents beside him pointed their guns at us.

"No need for _those_ ," I scolded, ignoring my tremor of fear. "I'm sure we can solve this reasonably and . . . diplomatically. Will you stop pointing those at us?!"

Bruce urgently tapped another message into his phone but this time Fury caught him. "Who the hell are you texting?" Lunging forward, he grabbed the phone out of his hands and his face scrunched up with anger. "You have an Avengers group chat? Ah, let's see what you said here. 'Come to the SHIELD base, it's urgent.' Then just a second ago, 'Come now.'" He tossed the phone to the side. "I'm afraid they won't arrive in time, Banner."

Tony frantically caught my eyes and mouthed the word 'Stall.' _Okay, I can do that._

"I bet they're already here," Tony simpered, sounding much more relaxed than he actually was. "Is this what you do on your free time, Fury? Kidnap little girls and imprison them? We all have our hobbies, but don't you think that's a _little_ extreme?"

I interjected before Fury could respond, "I agree, Tony. I personally don't plan on being imprisoned today. It just isn't on my to-do list. And, Fury, you must realize that my father won't be in Asgard forever, right? I certainly don't think he'll be too happy to find out you've kidnapped his only daughter."

The beginnings of doubt shadowed across him. "Thor won't have access to you."

This time it was Bruce who said softly, "He's a god, Fury, I think he'll manage a way. You need to tell your agents to back off. Is it really necessary to hold children at gunpoint?"

Unfortunately, that only seemed to strengthen Fury's conviction. "They're _dangerous_ , especially Blondie over there!" Charlotte gave him an obnoxious little wave and I snorted- obviously she wasn't out of it enough to annoy him. "And no, daughter of Thor, I'm not forgetting you. You knocked out fifty agents and then mentally froze the lot of us. There are some tests I'd like to have performed on you."

Icy terror inched its way up my spine. That was the main reason my father had feared my exposure to this world. He had guessed long ago this would happen and he was right. I wished more than anything in all the realms that he was here right now to protect me.

"Sir . . . you know, you don't even deserve such a respectful title. Fury, how dare the thought even cross your mind? I am beginning to see why my father has kept me hidden. This corrupt institution does not care who they hurt and will step over anyone and everyone to hold the most power. It is people like _you_ , Fury, who give Midgard a name of hatred and evil."

By then, Tony, Bruce, and Charlotte were observing me with keen interest and a surge of power flowed through me- I was no longer so exhausted, no, I was rejuvenated.

The man before me tilted his head slightly to the side, curious. "What do you mean exactly by hatred and evil?"

I pushed out a small laugh that ran through my body like adrenaline. My taunting is drawing his attention and buying us time but I don't know how long. In the corner of my eye, Bruce gave me a thumbs up to signal to keep going.

And boy, did I. I started again, "It's amazing how such a small planet has came to be a name that _so many know_. The name "Earth" spreads like a wildfire through the universe, causing curiosity and challenge. Midgard has accomplished so many amazing things and the praise has spread, but so has the bad. Your brilliance is matched only by your ineptitude and terrible deeds. Even our people, the ones who lend a helping hand, question those of which we have had contact. Once a unknown makes itself known, your people's first choice is to fire upon it, without bothering to know intention!"

My voice was rising as I went on, as my levels of passion grew stronger. "You people think you are so high and mighty, but it's not hard to see you are pathetic and small. People attack this planet not because they feel threatened by your glory and power, but because they _can_. But you know who stops them? The Avengers do. Not you. Not big, bad, bully S.H.I.E.L.D. And guess what? I'm willing to bet I know how mankind feels about people like _you_ , Fury. They don't hate you. They don't fear you. No, they _pity_ you."

BAM! I had a lot of flaws, but busting out a long, emotional, sometimes motivational speech was not one of them. I was a fluent speaker and I knew it.

The gears turning in Fury's head were almost audible. He had a lot of thinly veiled jabs and flat out insults to register. A hand gripped my wrist and I turned around to see Charlotte give me a single nod, a small but proud smile playing at her lips. She was impressed. I fought the urge to grin back and bask in my own glory.

"Well, that was . . . interesting," Tony remarked. "You were technically insulting me for a while there, so a bit of a dent to my ego there, but _excellent_ finish. Just went in for the kill."

Heat rushed to my face but I stood my ground. Before Fury could even _think_ to gurgle out an appropriate response, in came my new favorite assassins and Cap, followed by Leo surprisingly. I let out a sigh of relief. I stalled Fury just long enough for them to arrive.

Immediately the agents took aim from all directions, still keeping most weapons on our small group. I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

"Fury, what the hell are you doing?" Romanoff asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Cap continued, "I have to ask the same question. This is too far. We're going to take the kids and leave."

"Yeah, Fury," Leo unnecessarily added, "so you can just take those pretty little guns and stick 'em where the sun don't shine." Barton nudged him in the side and he fell silent.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Fury said almost regretfully. Almost. He pulled his gun out from his holster and pointed it right at Ari and I. "The kids are coming with me."

As quick as a flash, Hawkeye had one of his arrows drawn on the string of his bow and Black Widow had a gun lodged against Fury's head. "Check mate, Fury. Now, Cap! Leo, help the girls!"

Cap expertly attacked the agents and Tony and Hawkeye readily jumped to his aid. Hawkeye lashed out his bow and swung it against two of their heads while Tony's suit flew in and attached itself around his body after he simply tapped his chest.

Bruce speedily unhooked Charlotte from all the medical machines and when it became clear that she didn't have the strength to walk, lifted her up into a bridal hold.

Leo rushed forward to wrap an arm around my shoulders (I was beginning to sway on my feet) and flashed me a crooked grin. "Miss me?"

"The last time I saw you was only a short while ago, so I don't know if that qualifies. . . ." Bruce guided us past the sprawling men and Black Widow and hurried us down the hall to the nearest exit.

"Not so fast!" Fury bellowed at the top of his lungs, directing the gun at us _yet again_. "You. Aren't. Leaving. This. Base!"

In an expected turn of events, the Avengers bested the agents and formed a barrier to shield us from Fury. Black Widow trained her gun at him and said matter-of-factly, "This is going to end. You're going to let us leave or I'm going to shoot you. Which is it?"

His gun lowered a miniscule amount and the Avengers began to inch backwards, as well as us. Fury's shoulders crumpled in defeat as Bruce, Leo, Charlotte, and I burst out the exit and into the bright light of freedom.


	24. Chapter 13 - Part 1: Leo

**A/N: Say it with us. "We suck." Yup, repeat it a few more times, 'cause we definitely are. We really suck, and we're sooooooooo sorrrrryyyyyyy for taking so long to update. Ack. Four months. Throw any projectiles you would like, we promise, we will not dodge, because we deserve it.**

 **Thanks so much to everyone who's been enjoying, following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. We really hope you stick with this one!**

 **Hopefully this chapter will help make up for it. It's meant to be more of a fun chapter, and we had a lot of fun writing all of Leo's commentary, as usual. Everything's that happened during the time jump will be explained in Leo's interesting terms, so don't worry about that.**

 **Anyway, again, we're so sorry. Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks sooo much! :)**

 **Chapter 13 - Part 1: Leo**

It had been three hella long weeks since we'd broken out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building and away from crazy-ass Fury. Lemme catch y'all up and what happened the last few weeks, and lemme tell you something, it ain't much. Well, not for me, at least.

First off, my ass was grounded. Today was the first day my torturous imprisonment was lifted, so I was was one happy boy.

Second, Thor was still in Asgard. Sure, he occasionally popped back for a brief time to check on Ari, who was staying with Tony, against all odds, but he wasn't exactly himself. Why would he be? From what I heard, his relationship with his wife, Ari's mother, was in the sewers. Nobody told me precisely why, though.

My parents were working on cutting all contact off with S.H.I.E.L.D. They were already in the beginning stages of it before, but the whole gun debacle with Ari and Charlotte really expedited the process. Whoa, did you just read that? _Expedited?_ Big boy word right there. Ari would be proud, but I wouldn't know, 'cause I'd been stuck in the house for the last epoch.

Joey and Evie were grounded too, but not as long as me, because while they ditched the parent people on the gliders, they didn't do all the stupid crap I did beforehand. My parents would just _not_ let that go.

Oh, yeah, and then there was Charlotte. Apparently, from what I heard from second-hand conversation, since, of course, I COULDN'T ACTUALLY LEAVE THE HOUSE TO FIND THE DAMN SOURCE . . . ! Whoa, getting a little worked up there. _Deep breaths, Leo, deep breaths._

Anyway, evidently Charlotte suffered a seizure _and_ a mental breakdown in the middle of one of the hallways in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Man, that was one unlucky girl. It was like the universe legitimately enjoyed stomping all over her and sucking the life out of her. Life really sucked sometimes.

Bruce had taken care of her, and after the first week or so, she was on the recovery- physically, at least. My dad told me how her infection was gone, so at least that was one piece of good news.

Pepper was told about Tony's illegitimate child, and from what I heard, she wasn't all that happy. I didn't have too much information there, so that was what today was meant for- a trip over to Stark Towers to poke around a little and gather some new gossip.

Though my parents didn't quite go into any meticulous detail (Meticulous? Man, I am on a _roll_ ), it sounded like Charlotte hadn't spoken since her breakdown. Like, at all. My mom, who knew _all_ about having a shitty childhood, was working on infusing some patience into Tony because of the power of inner demons and whatnot. Even if Tony was light-hearted on the surface, though, he knew all about inner demons.

If Charlotte wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Tony, then it would be dubious for her to open up to me, right? Wrong. I was set and determined to coax her out of her iron shell. Heh, I didn't even realize I did that. Iron? Daughter of Iron Man? No? Wow, tough crowd. Yeah, I could do better. Gimme a break, being in jail for so long doesn't allow for any new and fresh material. Give me a little bit. I'll get there.

So, at this very moment, I was riding up the elevator on my heroic journey to assist fair maiden Charlotte. Badass maiden, but fair all the same.

Tony reluctantly allowed me up, but I could tell the poor guy was stressed. He probably wasn't taking his newfound daddy-hood very well, just as everyone expected.

The elevator door slid open to reveal an arguing couple (take one guess), and Ari awkwardly hovering in the kitchen. The heated couple did not take any notice of her presence and if they did, they didn't care in the slightest.

Pepper saw me first since Tony's back was to me, and she forced a tight smile. "Oh, Leo. I haven't seen you in a while. It's nice to see you."

Yeah, that woman was lying through her damn teeth, but it was the thought that counted. Tony grudgingly turned around as I courteously replied, "Hi, Pepper. I hope I, um, wasn't interrupting something." Ha ha, yeah, that was utter bullshit. Of freaking course I was interrupting something!

"No, Leo, you weren't interrupting _anything_ ," Tony muttered without any emotion or conviction at all, to the point where Pepper smacked him on the back of his shoulder. Rolling his eyes, he poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, and visibly sucked in deep breaths.

"Yeah, so, uh," I started on a _real_ good note, "I'm just gonna leave you two alone to . . . this." I gestured my hands desperately, and Tony half-heartedly glared at me until I scrambled over to the kitchen.

Ari greeted me with a bright smile, throwing her arms around my neck. Blushing deeply, I stiffly patted her on the back until she released her hold on me. "Leo, I missed you. It's been . . . tense around here. Daddy's been visiting some, and that helps, but he's . . . busy with my mother. Long story, don't ask," she chided as I opened my mouth to do just that. "Tony's been very gracious to allow me to stay here. I keep telling him he doesn't have to let me, but he keeps telling me it is not a big deal. I think he likes having me around, honestly. He isn't on great terms with Pepper, and Charlotte won't talk at all, so I'm basically the only person left he can regularly hold a normal conversation with."

"So, she's not talking at all?" I echoed, concerned. She nodded gravely, then hesitated.

"Well, she's said a few words to me here and there, but only me. I don't have the heart to tell Tony, because she hasn't said _anything_ to him. I'm worried about her. She's so . . . broken." She stared down at the blatantly expensive floor, downcast.

"Well, that's why I'm here," I said cheerfully, and she merely smirked at my overconfidence. _Well, I'll show her._

During our short conversation, the couple's voices steadily rose in volume until it cut us off. So, since we were young teenagers, we acted out what we did best and leaned around the corner for a better view and eavesdropped.

"You know what, Tony? We're not gaining anything by this! I _know_ you didn't know, but that doesn't make this any easier! But, _of course_ , your past was bound to catch up with you! You practically slept with half the female population, what did you _think_ was going to happen?" _Oooh, what a savage._ Ari exchanged a glance with me, wide-eyed.

"Look, Pepper," Tony snapped back, equally exasperated, "we've had this conversation a thousand times over the last few weeks and nothing's going to change! I'm sorry, okay? I. Am. Sorry. I didn't ask for this to happen, I had _no idea_ , but guess what, I don't have a damn choice!" _Nice comeback, Tony, solid stuff right there_.

Pepper's voice changed after that; tightened, like the production of tears was throwing her off her A-game. "I _know_ that! Can't you see I'm trying? This isn't easy for me either, Tony! She's not my child, but she's a part of my life just as she is yours and I'm going to have to deal with it, too!"

It then occurred to me that it would be extremely unfortunate if Charlotte was listening into this conversation. Talk about a hit to the self-worth. They were acting like all she was was a burden or a parasite of some sort. This couldn't be easy for her either.

Ari was thinking the exact same thing. "They're not quite thinking of his daughter at the moment, are they?"

"Nope." I popped the "p" for emphasis.

Tony stewed in silence, probably restraining himself from spitting something he'd regret, so Pepper took that as an opportunity to continue her bitchfest. Oh, sorry, that wasn't very nice at all, was it? Look, let's be honest here. Pepper was never my favorite person. Sure, she was okay and all, but she never really stood out to me, and her anal personality grated me. But if Tony liked so much, I guess she couldn't be all that bad.

"It doesn't make it any easier that she won't talk, either! How am I supposed to interact with her when she _refuses_ to communicate?" Pepper spewed, and I actually flinched. _Oooh, too far, lady, too far._ Ari's sharp intake of breath beside me agreed with my conclusion. "How can the three of us form any kind of relationship if she completely and utterly shuts us out?! What do you expect of me, Tony? I am trying and I will continue to try, but it's going to be _extremely_ difficult if she won't even meet us halfway!"

 _Callous bitch._ I regretted that thought instantly after it passed through my head; my parents taught me not to treat women like that. Even if it wasn't verbal, I still felt guilty and ashamed of myself.

Tony's eyes, which had been originally blazing and firing up, froze over and turned chillingly cold. We _all_ knew Pepper had stepped over a line, even Pepper herself. "Tony, I-"

"I can't even talk to you right now," he said icily, with barely contained dark rage. "This isn't you, Pepper. You are _not_ this insensitive. That's my mentally unwell daughter you're talking about. She had a fucking mental breakdown! Something in her _snapped_ , Pepper! So, yeah, she's not talking. How in the hell can we hold that against her? Hmmm, maybe it's because she was horribly abused!" The venom in his tone was almost palpable. "She doesn't need this right now! She needs _support_ , from everyone, and if you aren't willing to stand by me and give that support, then well, _there's the door_." Elevator, really, if we were going for accuracy, but the message still stood.

Silence. Pure, unadulterated _silence._ In all honesty, I was proud of my man Tony. He stood up for his kid, even though it was probably easier to side with Pepper because of how much longer he knew her. It was damn good that he put her in her place in this instance; he could be such pushover with Pepper sometimes.

I really hoped this wouldn't be a breakup, though, because of how happy she made Tony. Pepper stood there, rigid, for a few nerve-racking moments until she finally said, "We should talk again when we're both calmer. This isn't the time for this right now." And with that, she turned and strutted right into the elevator, allowing it to take her down.

Tony sighed as loudly as physically possible and dragged his feet over to us, sitting himself down at the counter and burying his head in his folded arms. "Ugh . . . why are women so _hard_ , you guys?"

"You're probably better equipped to answer that than me," I informed Ari, since after all, she _was_ a female. She didn't take to that too well, and thus, did not take the time to answer his (most likely) rhetorical question.

"So!" I clapped my hands together, ready to get down to business. "I came here for a mission, a mission should I choose to accept . . . which I do."

Tony lifted his head, mildly amused by my stammering. "Yeah, short stuff? And what's that?"

"I'm going to get to Charlotte to talk," I said proudly.

Tony had the sheer audacity to snort right in my face. "Well, kid, good luck with that. May the Force be with you. You have fun- not too much fun. Don't do anything I'd do." It amused me that he couldn't dare use the original "Don't do anything I _wouldn't_ do" version of the phrase, because there wasn't a lot he hadn't already done.

"Gee, thanks," I tossed over my shoulder as Ari lead me to Charlotte's room. Ari, of course, had to knock all courtesy, but I just barged in without waiting for an answer. "Honey, I'm home!"

Charlotte barely glanced up to even acknowledge my presence. Her glazed eyes stared holes in the wall opposite her, a stony emptiness residing in the dark brown irises.

I did not appreciate my lack of welcome, so I positioned myself next to her on her bed without any invitation, crossing my feet and relishing the softness of her bed. This was one _sweet_ room. For one thing, it was freakin' ginormous, just _waiting_ to be decorated. That would be my second duty. Help her fix the place up.

Ari cautiously sat down on the edge of the queen-sized bed (Queen-sized bed for one person? Excessive . . .), but I instead yanked her over to sandwich Charlotte between us. "Well, aren't we cozy."

Charlotte didn't say anything, but there was unmistakable grimace of annoyance I caught from her. _Good,_ I thought, _at least she's reacting_.

I sucked in a deep breath and embarked on a lengthy tirade. "Y'know, this room could do with some sprucing up. You're a tween girl, you're meant to decorate it with posters of all sorts of stuff. Don't worry, I'll update you on all the pop culture you'll need to know to survive. We also need to paint your walls. You probably wouldn't dig pink, that's cool, it's an ugly color anyway. The same prolly goes for purple, if I'm readin' you right. That leaves . . . the rest of 'em."

I was nowhere near done, in fact, I was just heating up. "I wouldn't go for black. It'd probably depress you in the long run- same goes for gray. White's what you have now, and that's boring as hell, so you better change that. Blue would look decent, same with green, and I don't take you for a yellow or orange type or person, but what about red? It'd be bold, but it could work. What do you think? What's your favorite color?"

For several long moments, she didn't budge and acted as if she hadn't heard anything I'd said. I was a little disheartened, but nowhere near defeated, when she said so quietly Ari and I had to strain to hear, "Red."

I was beyond ecstatic that she'd even responded at all, and Ari looked downright impressed with me, so that was a double bonus. "Awesome sauce! Red it is, then. Tony'll like that, 'cause of his suit. Oooh, maybe you could paint the walls red and gold? He'd really like that. Now, on to pop culture. There's a whole bunch of music I've gotta show you. I-"

"I've never heard music," she whispered almost regretfully, and my jaw dropped to the floor. _How . . . How is that even possible?!_ I was even more shocked by the fact that Tony hadn't played _anything_ while she had been here, then the notion that she'd never heard any of it in her entire lifetime. She was locked away and brutalized, simple pleasures such as music were likely not included.

This was a crime- a crime against _humanity_. Somebody needed to show this poor girl some music, and dammit, that person was _me_.

"You've never heard music?" Ari gasped out of disbelief, and if Charlotte had opened up even the slightest bit to us, she closed off again. Perhaps defensively, since she didn't want to feel inferior. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, I didn't mean to sound so patronizing." Charlotte stayed silent.

"I'll be back," I said with a feigned menace, scooting myself off her bed to dart out into the hall. Now, Tony's music wasn't exactly my favorite genre or anything, but it would just have to do.

So, I snuck into his bedroom (which, thankfully, was empty) and frantically searched his room for any CDs or a music player. Luckily for me, I hit the jackpot. His I-pod was lying all lonely on his nightstand, and a classic MP3 player resided on the top of his dresser. "Cool beans," I muttered under my breath, stealing both for Charlotte.

Charlotte watched me with mild curiosity as I set up the I-pod properly and shuffled the songs so they would play at random. The first song just had to be "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC, a band I mostly couldn't stand because of the screechy vocals.

Ari cringed away from the loud volume, but Charlotte perked up by the first guitar riff. She didn't even seem bothered as the singing came on, in fact, if it was possible, she grew even more entranced. Entranced by AC/DC . . . I felt a sort of oxymoronic vibe coming from that.

Charlotte not only survived through the whole song . . . but _enjoyed_ it. She really _was_ Tony's daughter. The next song was a Guns 'n Roses one, then Black Sabbath, then Nirvana, then Queen, and she ate it all up.

I personally preferred modern pop and hip hop, and Ari seemed like a classical music kind of girl, but who knows, the quiet ones can get freaky, and this stuff _really_ appealed to Charlotte. And I would suffer through it if it meant coaxing a smile or two out of her.

After "Another One Bites the Dust" ended, I switched the I-pod off and leaned back to observe Charlotte's countenance. She seemed so much . . . happier now. Music could do that to some people.

"I've never heard anything like that," she murmured, and Ari and I exchanged jubilant looks. We didn't even have to _start_ the conversation this time.

"Wait until I show you _good_ music," I began cheerfully, but she had the nerve to cut me off.

"This _is_ good," she argued, already taking it personally. Ugh, that _always_ occurred when I questioned Tony's musical tastes. I just received a whole lot of bitch face and sass. To be honest, that was Tony ninety-nine percent of the time, but still.

"It's . . . loud," Ari said as an attempt for neutrality that ultimately failed.

"You've been stuck here for a while," I informed Charlotte, and the ghost of a smile touched her lips. "I aim to change that. You need to get out in the world, live life, see what you've been missing."

"It's kinda hard when my mother's goons are still after me," she pointed out, and I had to concede to that. Her familiar arrogance made a return appearance, and she mulled it over. "But . . . they didn't kill me last time. My mother's trained me to be better than them. I _am_ better than them."

It was like three weeks of silence caught up with her, and now she was more animated than ever. She wriggled off the bed and paced furiously, a rebellious gleam in her eyes. "I'm not going to hide because of them, or her! They can't take me down." Her lips curled back in something between a smile and a snarl. "They've tried, and they've failed. They can't _touch_ me? Don't you see?" she demanded of us, acting almost manic.

I almost forgot that Charlotte _had_ had a mental breakdown a few weeks prior. Maybe she wasn't quite over it, and this was all too much for her. Guilt settled in my stomach; I only wanted her to have some fun, but I could've just made it worse.

"Charlotte, I don't think this style of thinking is very healthy," Ari mentioned with an air of caution, as if afraid if she stepped a toe out of line Charlotte would rip her head from her neck. "I think we should just drop this, and maybe listen to some more music."

"No, Leo's right!" _Um no, Leo's NOT right this time. For once, please do_ not _listen to me. Any other time, sure, but not now!_ "I hate being stuck in once place for so long- I've had an entire lifetime of that. I'm done."

"Do y'think Tony would even let you go?" I asked doubtfully, but beginning to warm up to the idea. _Meh, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em._

"I can handle Tony," she concluded after a brief moment's thought.

I belted out a sharp laugh. "Handling Tony . . . that's funny. He is about a cooperative as a wet cat, at least in _my_ experience. And everybody else's experiences."

"Well, if we can't deal with him, then I'm sure there are many other ways out." She took a moment to ponder this thought before turning to Ari. "You've explored, you must know a few ways out of this fortress."

Ari spoke reluctantly, "There are various exits, but in good conscience I cannot tell you them. Not only do I think this idea of yours is a poor one, but Mr. Stark has treated me very well in the time of my father's absence and I don't wish to betray him."

 _Ari to the rescue_ , I thought, smiling at her for saving me from my own mistakes, but that was short-lived. Charlotte was a right ol' stubborn lass, that was to be sure.

"Well, Ari, we are going with or without you, aren't we Leo?" Charlotte challenged, expecting me to pick her side. Both girls turned to me looking for me to make the decision. Oh, how I wanted to say yes. Trouble was just calling my name, and it was _so_ hard to deny its fun.

"Oh, this isn't fair. You both are pretty, and my friends. I don't want to choose." I pleaded, hoping to dissuade them from expecting me to join a side. Picking between two pretty girls was like being torn apart in two separate directions. Very painful.

"What does us being pretty have to do with anything?" Ari asked as a side note, her brow scrunched up in confusion.

"Nothing really. I'm just trying to rack up some brownie points to put in the bank for later," I informed them shamelessly.

"What are brownie points?" both girls inquired at the same time, again reminding me how out of touch with society they both were. I would fix that. After I was through with them, they would be spouting pop culture and useless facts until they didn't know what to do with themselves. I was _that_ good.

So, something happened next that I'm not terribly proud of. We came to a two-against-one sort of agreement, but Ari refused to budge, something about her morals and principles and blah blah blah.

It was Charlotte's idea, really. Like, no joke. Charlotte mentioned the questionable idea of just "kidnapping" her and dealing with consequences later. Like the perfect accomplice, I fished through Charlotte's top drawer and (jokingly!) shoved a sock into Ari's mouth to act as a gag. She didn't quite take it as a joke, but no matter. She didn't use her godly powers on me, which I thought was very nice of her indeed.

Out in front of Charlotte's room, we set the scene and formed our plan. "Okay, I've got this," Charlotte said in her best conspiratory voice. "You sneak Ari into the elevator." Ari gave off a muffled shriek through the sock I was still shoving into her mouth. Since she didn't want to touch me and go through any unnecessary pain, her balance was all funky, so it was easy for me to just drag her along.

"Got it, chief."

"Dude, shut up, I'm not done."

"Keep going, then. We don't have all day."

She glared at me half-heartedly, but she was smiling. "I'll ask Tony if we can go. If he says yes, then I'll meet you in the elevator. If he says no, then I'll meet you in the elevator. Got it?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!"

Ari grunted through the fabric of the footwear, but it didn't sound like a coherent thought, so we just considered it a grunt of approval, even though it obviously was not.

Tony was busy watching "General Hospital" which he very quickly switched to "ESPN" when he heard someone coming. _Oh Tony, you can't fool us, I saw Sonny Corinthos on your screen just as well as you did, and Carly, and-_

*Ahem.* I did not, do not, and will never watch "General Hospital." What are you even talking about? Don't look at me like that.

Like the brave soul I was, I snuck with Ari through the kitchen while Charlotte went straight for Tony. When he saw her, his eyes practically popped out of his skull. "Hi, Tony."

He jumped to his feet. "Oh my lord, you're talki- oh, hi! How're you doing?"

"Great," she answered blandly, and I cursed her stupid pride. If she could just be nice and polite, Tony might give her permission. _Gosh, it's a dark day when I'm correcting someone on personal etiquette._ "I need to ask you a favor."

Ari was still struggling slightly, but not with as much vigor. Charlotte was a clever one, let me tell you that. As I peeked around the corner, I noticed that since Tony had been lounging, his wallet had fallen onto the couch. Yep, Charlotte noticed too. Oh boy, did she.

"Yeah, of course, anything," Tony replied easily, but I knew he'd be backtracking soon enough.

"Can I go out with Ari and Leo?" Awww, she sounded so hopeful, like a puppy- a puppy, that by Tony's expression, he had to very unwillingly stomp on.

"Erm . . . do you want me to build you a robot dog? Buy a couple tubs of ice cream? 'Cause all those suggestions are totally fine by me." Oh, Tony, trying to be the cool dad. Well, he actually was pretty cool, so he was succeeding, but he was also pretty poorly avoiding what Charlotte _really_ wanted to do.

She looked unimpressed, in only the way a tween/teenage girl possibly could, and he squirmed in the spotlight. "Well, you see, Charlotte . . . It appears that there are henchmen of some sort out to get you, and I would be neglecting my basic core paternal duties if I just let them get you. Then I'd get Child Protective Services all up in my ass- all and all, not a good idea."

Did I mention Charlotte was a clever one? Because she really, really was. Not only did she rotate enough so his back was facing the elevator, but she'd also surreptitiously snuck his credit card out of his wallet. Man, she could've been using her brainiac powers for good, but alas, evil was all the more fun.

"Okay, Tony. That's fair." He blinked in surprise, like he was shocked he'd surpassed his first parental hurtle without a hitch. Oh, how little he knew. "But you see, let me tell you _my_ side of the issue . . ."

That girl. That smart, smart girl. She was raising her voice, not to the point of yelling, but to the point where one could categorize her as an abnormally noisy speaker. Loud enough where it could obscure the quick push of an elevator button. Ari and I made a mad rush for the elevator and jumped in, and I held it open for Charlotte.

She cut herself off in the middle of an admittedly logical rant, and "relented," "You know, you're right, Tony. You're absolutely right. I'm going to go back to my room, and you can go back to watching whatever chick flick _you_ were watching, and it'll be a good done deal."

Ugh, here was the first snag in the plan. Tony was a total friggin' genius, and he was nobody's fool. She'd set some sort of alarm bells off in his head. "Kid, do you think I was born yesterday? Fell off the nearest turnip truck . . . yesterday?"

Charlotte just shrugged. "You never know." They both kind of lightly sneered at each other in the Stark way.

"You're trying to pull something." It wasn't a question, just a matter-of-fact statement.

Her hand flew to her chest as if she was outraged by his assumption. "Tony, I _resent_ that. I am doing no such thing."

Tony stepped in a little closer, and she would've stepped back, but there was no room because Tony's couch was right behind her. "Look, kid- let's not play dumb here. Neither of us are stupid. I most certainly am not. And don't think I didn't notice your new little friend Leo sneak into the elevator." I choked on my own saliva as his eyes flickered knowingly up to me. "Hey, Mini Ass, kidnapping Ari for the second time in a month? I'm seriously questioning your mental state- you have a problem, little man."

"I-I'm, um, I'm-"

"Having a stroke?" Charlotte finished for me, and Tony would have smiled if not for the suspicious situation.

Ari spat the sock from her mouth and grumbled, "Tony, I am not a part of this, and-"

"And nothing!" I interrupted her.

It became apparent that there were no options left. We were done for. Well, Charlotte wasn't a quitter. And she obviously did not know when to give up and cut her losses. I was beginning to wonder if she was genuinely insane.

Charlotte looked beyond Tony's shoulder and widened her eyes, and normally, I'd call her out on that totally cliché move, but she made up for that by the rather original cry of, "Oh my God, Tony, I didn't know Thor could fly! And why's he swinging that weird hammer of his?"

It was so convincing, we _all_ looked. Even Ari. And that was when Charlotte jumped into action. She was halfway down the living room before Tony could even blink, and inside of the elevator before he could even _move_. "Go, go, go!"

Well, this was stressful. Tony broke out of his frozen stupor and raced for the elevator while I pounded the "lobby" button. Luckily for us, the doors closed _right_ before he arrived. "Charlotte!" he shouted through the metal. "You little smartass, open the damn doors!"

"Charlotte, Leo, open the doors already, this isn't funny anymore," Ari warned us sternly. "I'm sorry, Tony," she called through the doors. "This is . . . unfortunate."

"You're telling _me_ ," he said back.

Charlotte and I, of course, did not open the doors, and that was when it happened. The dreaded command, that could've very well ruined our plan for good. Tony yelled just as the elevator started lowering, "JARVIS, stop the elevator!"

"Yes, sir." And the elevator _stopped_.

Charlotte was her father's daughter, and she had some quick thinking of her own hidden up her sleeve. "JARVIS, as Tony Stark's _daughter_ , start up the elevator!"

He hesitated a moment before allowing, "Yes, miss." And the elevator began to lower again.

So, it went a little like this. Tony stopped it, Charlotte started it again, Tony tried to override Charlotte's requests, until finally Charlotte begged the loveable invisible butler-dude, "JARVIS, please. You and I talked some the last few weeks when I didn't talk to anybody else, and I feel like we've formed a certain bond of trust and camaraderie. Please, please, _please_ let me go down the elevator. JARVIS, as your friend, please."

That manipulative little- JARVIS listened to her! Omigawrd, JARVIS legitimately listened to her over Tony! Something about not being able to let the "little miss Stark girl" down. What a bro!

"JARVIS, I could kiss you!" I cheered as the elevator once again lowered.

"I advise against that, Mr. Barton."

So, as mentioned before, Ari's the principled one of us three and she was uncomfortable with the situation. "Tony looked quite angry, you two."

We both just shrugged it off, unconcerned. It was _Tony_. What was the worst he could do? He was a big fluffy teddy bear at the end of the day. "Let him be," Charlotte said shamelessly, "it's not a big deal. I can handle myself, and the sooner he finds that out, the better."

Apparently, Tony had given Charlotte an I-Phone sometime during the last three weeks even though she hadn't left her room, but it served its purpose when he called her now. I warned her not to answer, Ari tried to convince her to do the right thing and pick up the phone. I had a weird mental image of both of us standing on Charlotte's shoulder, Ari as the righteous angel and me as the funny devil guy.

Charlotte did end up deciding to answer. "Hello, who's this?" I snickered openly, but Ari's brow just creased disapprovingly. I took the cellphone from her for a second and pressed speaker phone, so we could all hear what kind of trouble we were potentially in.

"Come back up," was all he said. Tony didn't really yell, like, ever. He was perfectly fine with keeping his voice calm, even, and thus, even more dangerous.

Charlotte just _had_ to make everything worse. "But Tony, the elevator's going down, I can't go back up at the same time. It's going against the laws of physics."

"Kid, I basically _invented_ physics. How about you tell JARVIS to come back up, huh? Since you somehow overrode him with, as he puts it, a declaration of friendship."

"That would be defeating the purpose of the entire escape," she countered, then smoothly ended the conversation with, "Farewell for now, Tony, you sit tight." She hung up the phone, and Ari huffed in annoyance, muttering something about how stupid she thought that was.

And then _my_ phone rang. _Oh goody_. Now, I could've been all mature about it, but . . . nah. "Hello, this is Domino's Pizza, what can I get for you? As you most likely know, we _do_ deliver, and that makes us super friggin' cool, 'cause-"

"Mini-Ass, I swear . . ."

"Sorry, Tony," I said without an ounce of apology, "but Charlotte really wanted to do this, and I cannot in good grace deny a lady's requests. Goodbye, my good gent." Then I hung up _my_ phone.

"I think Tony chipped my phone, so he might be able to track it," Charlotte mused. "He's going to be using the elevator next, so I think I'll leave the phone in here when it heads back up to him."

"Wait, I can make that even _more_ obnoxious!" I snatched the phone out of her hand, Google-searched the _Mission Impossible_ theme and set it on a loop, then tossed it into the elevator. As we left, Charlotte pounded the button to Tony's floor so it would head up straight for him. We were an evil, evil pair.

"You two have no respect," Ari said somberly, and we just snickered in response. _Very true, wise redhead._

I was perfectly aware Tony's next choice of action would be calling my parents, but my grounding just ended, and I was in desperate need of some fun. So, I speed-dialed Evie and by extension Joey, set up a meeting place near Time's Square, then hailed a taxi.

I was forced to turn my phone on silent, because Tony refused to stop calling and texting me. Like, take a hint, man. I also shut off location services in case he tried to track me down. Knowing him, though, he'd still somehow find a way.

The taxi dropped us off near Time's Square, and I caught the blond-haired twins right where they said they'd be. Such reliability.

"We all set?" I asked everybody, and all of them nodded eagerly, even Ari, who was just finally happy to be outside. "Okay, then. Let's have some _fun_."

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! Next chapter, which will be posted far sooner than this one, we may have a brief Tony perspective, but it will most likely be a Charlotte perspective. They're gonna have a whole lot of fun, but also, it wouldn't be our story if there was no danger. . . .**


	25. Chapter 13 - Part 2: Charlotte

**A/N: Ugh, we suck. Yeah, we do. But at least the update's shorter than the one before! And we're working on the next installment already, a rare Tony perspective. The ending to this installment has lots of foreshadowing, and we wonder what you'll think about it! It'll all be revealed in the installment after Tony's perspective, so stay tuned!**

 **Thanks so much for all the feedback and support, and please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much :).**

 **Chapter 13 - Part 2: Charlotte**

"This heinous amount of salt could very well lead to one of our deaths," was one of Ari's many complaints as we sat in some random fast food restaurant. Yet, she was _still_ eating the damn French fries, in spite of her freaky-ass powers.

Supposedly, touching food and the like was tolerable with her growing powers, unlike complex forms such as technology or living organisms. I tuned out somewhere in the middle of that, so I very well could be wrong. Don't blame me, her accent kind annoyed me, for reasons I couldn't precisely put to words.

"The only death in the near future will be _yours_ , if you don't shut up," I grumbled through a mouthful of my juicy burger. Ari narrowed her eyes at me, but she didn't take it _too_ personally. Surely they knew by now that I was mean to _everyone_.

First burger ever- Leo wanted to take a picture, but I threatened to throw his phone at a flock of pigeons outside, so he refrained. Still, the food was great, much better than the utter crap I'd been forever accustomed to.

"Well-said," Evie complimented me, reaching across the table to high-five me. Her phone buzzed for the third time since we met up with her, and she looked like she was seriously contemplating drowning it in her milkshake. "Ugh, it's Dad _again_ , telling us to come back. Tony sure alerted the other Avengers real fast. I sent Dad a text, so he doesn't think I'm dead or anything, 'cause that would be unfortunate, but now he won't leave me alone."

"I turned my phone off like twenty minutes ago," Joey pointed out from beside me. "I highly recommend it. Sure, the old man's gonna be pissed when we meet up with him, but we have a good few hours of freedom. Let's enjoy it."

"This is going to totally bite us in the ass," Leo interjected, "but it will be worth it!" He checked his phone again and groaned. "So, Charlotte, Tony wasn't too fond of the phone in the elevator incident. . . ."

"Well, I'm sorry to bruise his delicate ego!" Everybody snickered around me but Ari, the buzzkill. "Here, give me the phone." He handed it over.

"Your funeral."

I smirked as I read through the various insults and quips only Tony Stark could come up with. I typed in:

 _What's up, Tony? It's Charlotte. Sorry about the whole phone thing. Actually, it was kind of funny, but I figure you'd rather hear I'm sorry than that. I know you chipped it, so I couldn't bring it. You get me? Yeah, you get me._

"Pretty damn ballsy of you," Joey remarked as he read it over my shoulder. I only grinned up at him, and he hesitantly smiled back.

I pressed "send" then, even though it was unnecessarily sarcastic, and as I awaited Tony's response, popped a few more of those heavenly fries in my mouth. He took his sweet time to type it up, so, bored, I scrolled through his voicemails and counted seven already. "Huh, let's see here. Tony, Hawkeye, Tony, Black Widow, Black Widow, Cap, and . . . Bruce Banner?" I brandished the phone in front of Leo's face. "What's he got to do with this?"

He shrugged, and explained through his mouthful of burger, "He's kinda like my uncle. I bet Tony called him to bitch about me, so now he's involved. I dunno."

"He's like everyone's uncle," Evie added, throwing a French fry at her twin brother for no particular reason. He threw one back, and it smacked her right in the nose. My kind of friends right there. "Well, except his own kid of course."

"Oh yes, doesn't he have a daughter?" Ari asked curiously, and I huffed in impatience when I discovered Tony was _still_ typing. Holy crap, man, I didn't have all day for this drama.

"Yeah, her name's Genevieve," Joey replied, cleaning off his hands with a napkin then balling it up, throwing it on his empty plate. "We all call her Genny, though. She's pretty cute, not in our age group. She's five, I think. She likes to follow us around, hang out with the big kids."

"Can't wait to meet her, she sounds like a wonderful human being," I said absentmindedly, because Tony finally replied. _Oh, here we go, this should be good._ The _ridiculously long_ text read:

 _You know, Charlotte, believe it or not, you throwing your phone in the elevator is only one of the reasons I'm peeved at you. And although the Mission Impossible theme was so Mini-Ass, that didn't help._

 _There are people after you. Now is not the time to be the little rebel belle I'm sure you were born to be._

 _Allow me to state this nicely. Get your scrawny ass back here, or I swear to everything holy I will don my Iron Man suit and bring you back myself. In case you didn't get that message loud and clear, where in that case there is something seriously wrong with your brain, if it comes to the second option, I can guarantee you won't like it._

 _I'll find you, because I'm a genius, and I will gladly haul your ass out from wherever you are, throw you over my shoulder in front of all your new friends, and encourage any lucky bystanders to point and laugh. I'll be the embarrassing dad. I swear I will. I don't think you'll be too happy about it, to be honest, so that is why I recommend you come back now. That is all._

My mouth was agape as my eyes skimmed over it once more. "What's it say?" Leo questioned a little warily, reaching to take the phone back. I slapped his hand away, and he sulked at me. Everybody eyed me with bated breath.

"Bitch, please. Oh, it's _on_." I wasn't one to back down from a challenge, and if this wasn't a challenge, then Leo was a purple sparkly giraffe. "He won't know what hit 'im."

"Charlotte, perhaps we _should_ go back," Ari warned me for the millionth billionth trillionth zillionth time. "It isn't intelligent of you to anger your father, and show him such disrespect."

"Ari, I would appreciate it if you would kindly shut your face." Leo and Evie snorted, Joey raised a brow, and Ari just sat back with a knowing, "Don't-say-I-didn't warn-you" sigh. "Relax, my ginger friend. Tony's a total pushover. We all know it."

There were noncommittal grunts of agreement from all around.

Unwisely, I actually decided to call the man, because I wasn't one to back down easily. Tony didn't even say hello, how impolite of him. He sounded awfully smug, though. I aimed to change that. "So, I'm guessing you're heading back right about now? I didn't _think_ you'd like idea of me throwing you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. . . ."

"You want to play, Tony? Let's play. Now, I do understand that there are people after me. But they didn't bring us down before, so in my mind, that's a job well done. They wouldn't dare in public. Your threats are respectable enough, but it'll take a lot more than that to win me over. Didn't anyone tell you that you win more flies with honey than vinegar? Tut tut, Tony, I expected better of you." Ari outright gasped at my boldness, Joey and Evie stared wide-eyed, and a grin threatened to rip Leo's face apart. He grabbed his phone and set it on speaker.

It might as well have been a political debate, with how formal the two of us were being, yet each with a dangerous undercurrent in between the lines. There was an intense muttering in the background, and it occurred to me that he had me on speakerphone as well. "You know, little girl, you're awfully cocky when you have no reason to be. We're the Avengers, kid. They're right behind me, in case you were wondering, and you're on speaker phone. We've saved New York from a bunch of huge-ass aliens. I don't think finding a group of misfit tweens and sending them home with their tails between their legs is going to be too much of an issue."

Even _Leo_ looked scared now. I'd give them this. My newfound father was nowhere near as threatening as all their parents were. Tony didn't have the backbone to punish me for anything, but _their_ parents had no qualms about it.

So, I decided to pull out all my stops. "Here lies the issue, my dear man. You have not told the media about your illegitimate child. So, throwing me over your shoulder, as you say, will be interpreted in two ways. Either, the public will find out you have a daughter, or everybody will think you are kidnapping an innocent twelve-year-old girl. Neither one is preferable. I suggest you rethink your plan, Tony. It's not a great one. So, while you rethink that plan, we're going to enjoy our outing. You have fun now. We definitely will."

With that, I hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I'll admit, I did enjoy the gazes of pure, unadulterated awe I earned from my comrades. It boosted my ego.

We _all_ turned off our phones after that.

"I can't believe you _said_ that." Ari looked downright terrified on my behalf, but I don't know, I was pretty laid back about the whole thing. Nowhere _near_ as worried as any of them. "You're going to be in so much trouble- and us, by default."

"Ari, my friend." I reached forward to dramatically grasp my hands together, as if I had something very significant to say- which I did, of course. Everything I had to say was significant in its own special way. "You need to live a little. Have some fun. Live in the _now_. You people will be in trouble later, but let's make the most of what we have now, aye?"

I didn't really know what I expected, but I sure as _hell_ didn't expect her to reply, ". . . Okay." Of everything holy, she _listened_ to me! To _me!_ This was going to be a damn fun afternoon.

 **A little while later . . .**

I walked out of the changing room in what felt like the twentieth outfit in a half hour. Leo knew not to wolf-whistle this time. He and Joey did stare an awful lot, though. It didn't fare too well for Leo when wolf-whistled did it the first time- I had received a dirty look from a salesperson for causing "commotion." Whatever, they could suck eggs.

"I'm beginning to think you're developing a style!" Evie chirped all excitedly as she circled me to see every angle of my outfit. She was right, I supposed, but it still unnerved me how much effort she was putting into this.

At the moment, I was wearing smoky stockings, a black leather skirt that was admittedly a little short, a simple black long-sleeved shirt with sleeves of lace, a bright red leather jacket, and red Converse. I really like red and black, m'kay?

I had plenty of scars; I wasn't going to be wearing any tank tops, and anyway, I still had the bandages from the last time my mother nearly beat me to death. When Evie tried to force me into a particularly sheer tank top, I just about bit her head off.

"Lookin' mighty fine, as usual," Leo said to me with a wolfish grin, then yelled inside for Ari, "C'mon, Ari, we won't bite, but we don't have all day either!"

We were all having a lot of fun with her. She had no idea what Midgardians were supposed to wear, so she completely bought whatever Leo told her was "appropriate." And no, they weren't appropriate, even I, who was stuck in a freakin' underground cave my entire godforsaken life, knew that.

This time, she was dressed in a pair of tight white mini-shorts, and a pastel blue shirt somewhere between an actual shirt and a crop top. Evie dressed her up in these three-inch heels, too. "How's _this_ one?"

Leo clapped his hands together wildly. "Yeah! Encore, encore!"

Evie waved our shopping bags in his faces. "We have enough clothes in here to clothe an entire city, Leo, and I _told_ you that I want to get highlights in my hair."

Joey stood up in front of her, wringing his hands nervously. "Er, Evie, not that that isn't a brilliant idea, but when Dad sees them, he's gonna freak."

"But I'll have pretty hair, so it'll all be worth it in the end." She flashed her twin an award-winning smile and dragged us over to the check-out lane. The cashier's eyes bugged out when he took notice of our enormous bags of clothes (that we were forcing Leo and Joey to carry).

"Do you kids have money for all that?" The man didn't trust us! The _nerve!_ We all were very respectable individuals. I brandished Tony's credit card around for proof, and he reluctantly took it from me as he checked the clothes. "You girls are going to have to change out of the ones you're wearing, so I can check them too."

Ugh, we didn't have _time_ for this garbage! We had to go, so we could check off everything on our itinerary! Everybody groaned, but the cashier man wasn't budging. And then Ari did the unthinkable. She reached forward, grabbed his hand, and told him very clearly, "We walked in with these outfits. These outfits are ours."

 _Damn_. She blatantly used her powers for the greater bad, to _steal!_ Now, _that's_ the kind of fun Leo and I were talking about!

His eyes blanked out. "Those outfits are yours." Thank everything holy that none of the other cashiers or customers were paying any ounce of attention.

"Take off the tags so it won't alert the security sensors," Evie hissed in our ears, and after I yanked off mine, I did the same for Ari so she wouldn't have to touch them.

"The total will be one thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven dollars." Well, crap. Tony was going to throw a total shitfit when he found out. Wait, what? The dude was a billionaire. If he accidentally dropped a thousand bucks, he probably wouldn't even walk back to pick it up.

"Shiiiiiiit," Leo breathed as we hurried out of the store. "Not only is it a thousand bucks, but Ari, you _stole_ those! I can't believe it. You _actually_ stole them. Damn, Ari. Day-um. You've got cajones."

Her cheeks were as red as a ripe cherry. "I was told to have fun, so I did."

"Good for you!" I heartily slapped her on the back. "Delinquency is always the way to go. I applaud you."

We ended up at the hair salon, and I got my long strands of blonde hair cut to shoulder length, as well as bangs that suited my round-ish face. Oh, and I decided to streak my hair with a blood-red color, because ya know, youthful adrenaline leads to poor decisions.

Evie had her long waves of golden blonde locks streaked with a dark blue, and hell, even _Ari_ had a pretty lavender added into her ginger curls. The Avengers were going to kill us, but if we were going to die, then dammit, we were going to look good doing it.

"If we're going to die, then we're going to die with style," Evie sang a couple hours later as we entered a store specializing in jewelry, with the boys groaning and bitching behind us. We decided to pierce our ears, even though Ari's were already pierced.

"Sorry girls, you need a parent or guardian with you to agree to this," the lady behind the front desk said apologetically. Before Evie and I could even begin to sulk as we were required to as tween/teen girls, Ari shot her hand forward, grasped the lady by the wrist, and said firmly,

"That's true, but you are going to make an exception for my friends, aren't you?" Joey had to clap his hand over Leo's big mouth so he wouldn't squeal from shock.

The lady nodded her head happily. "Of course I am! Come on girls, let me set you up!"

"I knew there was a reason I wanted to be your friend," I whispered into Ari's ear before following the lady to a special chair. A large grin spread across Ari's face.

Evie only wanted her lobes pierced, but since Ari paved the way for us to do whatever the hell we wanted, I ended up getting my lobes pierced (twice), and two cartilage piercings on my right ear. With _diamonds_. Fake diamonds, but with Tony's dough, I could buy real ones if I wanted to.

The lady had started to say something about how I was too young for that, but Ari forced her power onto her yet again, and it was smooth sailing from there. The cartilage piercings hurt more than I'd originally anticipated, but I was no stranger to pain.

Ari caught her eye on these beautiful dangling earrings with bright blue sapphires that perfectly matched the coloration of her irises, so I whipped out Tony's credit card. "I've got it covered, friend."

She immediately shook her head. "No, no, I couldn't make you pay for that."

"I'm not paying for it. Tony is." And before she could protest further, I plucked them off the display and paid for it along with everything else. Her smile nearly blinded me.

After paying and receiving the cleaning products we had to use for our ears, we left the store with a bounce in our steps. "Where to next, gang?" Joey sighed as he readjusted our shopping bags into a better grip. "Please don't tell me you're gonna buy more crap. If you are, then you girls are going to hold it all."

"Joey, be a gentleman!" Evie chided him, and he threw his head back with an exaggerated weariness. "Come on, you guys. This day has hardly begun. We've hit the mall, now," her green eyes glimmered with mischief, "let's go out into the city. Manhattan won't know what hit 'em."

I didn't know at the time how true she was. There were a lot of things I would discover about myself. A lot of boundaries I didn't think I would cross. That I _could_ cross.

The snapping of the bones and the blood caked on my skin . . . I would remember for a lifetime. Murder. Not exactly self-defense, either. Just vengeance and rage, emotions that had been dormant in the last few weeks. For the most part.

I didn't think I would ever murder anyone. And . . . I didn't think it would be so easy.

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! How did you like Tony and Charlotte's battle of wits? What do you think Charlotte's talking about at the end? How far do you think she would go, and who is she talking about? Tell us what you think!**


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